A version of this story about the resurgence of celluloid presentation first appeared in the College Issue of TheWrap magazine.
Judging from the lines snaking down the street at 70mm mini festivals taking place everywhere in the past few years — from NYC’s Paris Theater to Chicago’s Music Box Theatre to L.A.’s American Cinematheque theaters — one thing is abundantly clear: The love for celluloid is everlasting. But aside from the proper showcasing of “Oppenheimer,” “Licorice Pizza” and—and if you’re lucky, movies such as “Nope” and “Last Night in Soho”, is the ongoing passion for celluloid reflected in current film school curriculum? In the age of digital everything, are future cineastes learning more about the tactile art of tape-handling and editing their work on Steenbecks?
Quite possibly more than you might think. Many institutions still regularly offer courses studying celluloid, particularly 35mm, including New York City...
Judging from the lines snaking down the street at 70mm mini festivals taking place everywhere in the past few years — from NYC’s Paris Theater to Chicago’s Music Box Theatre to L.A.’s American Cinematheque theaters — one thing is abundantly clear: The love for celluloid is everlasting. But aside from the proper showcasing of “Oppenheimer,” “Licorice Pizza” and—and if you’re lucky, movies such as “Nope” and “Last Night in Soho”, is the ongoing passion for celluloid reflected in current film school curriculum? In the age of digital everything, are future cineastes learning more about the tactile art of tape-handling and editing their work on Steenbecks?
Quite possibly more than you might think. Many institutions still regularly offer courses studying celluloid, particularly 35mm, including New York City...
- 10/27/2023
- by Jason Clark
- The Wrap
Editor’s Note: This interview took place prior to the beginning of the Writers Guild of America strike on May 2.
Is Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) a superhero? She’s a human lie detector, that’s reaffirmed again and again over the course of “Poker Face.” The world of the Peacock series is certainly a heightened one, full of murderous actors, murderous racecar drivers, murderous Joseph Gordon-Levitts — all sorts. The show’s tone and, for lack of a better term, physics never stray as far from reality as “Wonder Woman” or “Guardians of the Galaxy,” but thinking about Charlie’s ability through the framework of sci-fi/fantasy genre conventions helped showrunners Lilla and Nora Zuckerman tap into what makes the character tick.
Miles Morales can sling webs all day, but that doesn’t help him solve the dilemma of asking out a cute girl or figuring out a new, more mature relationship with his parents.
Is Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) a superhero? She’s a human lie detector, that’s reaffirmed again and again over the course of “Poker Face.” The world of the Peacock series is certainly a heightened one, full of murderous actors, murderous racecar drivers, murderous Joseph Gordon-Levitts — all sorts. The show’s tone and, for lack of a better term, physics never stray as far from reality as “Wonder Woman” or “Guardians of the Galaxy,” but thinking about Charlie’s ability through the framework of sci-fi/fantasy genre conventions helped showrunners Lilla and Nora Zuckerman tap into what makes the character tick.
Miles Morales can sling webs all day, but that doesn’t help him solve the dilemma of asking out a cute girl or figuring out a new, more mature relationship with his parents.
- 6/21/2023
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
A version of this story about the cinematography of “Poker Face” first appeared in the Comedy Series issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
Cinematographer Steve Yedlin has collaborated with two-time Oscar nominee Rian Johnson on every feature the latter has made, from 2005’s junior-noir “Brick” to the sci-fi mind-bender “Looper” to the striking “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” to last year’s “Knives Out” sequel, “Glass Onion,” and admits that “Poker Face,” Peacock’s sly fox of a mystery (for the uninitiated — envision a gender-swapped “Columbo” doing time on a fairly malevolent “Love Boat” that instead stays docked in different cities), is just part of a larger theme in their careers.
Also Read:
How ‘Poker Face’s’ Stop-Motion Animation Episode Was Brought to Life
“Strangely, I had been a ‘Columbo’ fan since I was a kid,” Yedlin said. “And I think for Rian, it’s actually a more recent thing.
Cinematographer Steve Yedlin has collaborated with two-time Oscar nominee Rian Johnson on every feature the latter has made, from 2005’s junior-noir “Brick” to the sci-fi mind-bender “Looper” to the striking “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” to last year’s “Knives Out” sequel, “Glass Onion,” and admits that “Poker Face,” Peacock’s sly fox of a mystery (for the uninitiated — envision a gender-swapped “Columbo” doing time on a fairly malevolent “Love Boat” that instead stays docked in different cities), is just part of a larger theme in their careers.
Also Read:
How ‘Poker Face’s’ Stop-Motion Animation Episode Was Brought to Life
“Strangely, I had been a ‘Columbo’ fan since I was a kid,” Yedlin said. “And I think for Rian, it’s actually a more recent thing.
- 6/13/2023
- by Jason Clark
- The Wrap
Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale in ‘Poker Face’ season 1 episode 5 (Photo by: Phillip Caruso / Peacock)
Peacock’s renewed one of the best new shows of the season, confirming Poker Face will return for season two. The mystery series, which currently sits at 99 fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, follows Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) as she travels around the U.S., taking odd jobs and attempting to keep one step ahead of an angry Vegas casino owner. At each stop, she becomes embroiled in a murder investigation.
The popular dramedy was created by Rian Johnson (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery), with Johnson writing, directing, and executive producing. Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman are the showrunners and also serve as executive producers along with Natasha Lyonne, Nena Rodrigue, Ram Bergman, and Iain B. MacDonald.
“Poker Face is one of those rare, undeniable shows that we all fell in love with from the start,...
Peacock’s renewed one of the best new shows of the season, confirming Poker Face will return for season two. The mystery series, which currently sits at 99 fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, follows Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) as she travels around the U.S., taking odd jobs and attempting to keep one step ahead of an angry Vegas casino owner. At each stop, she becomes embroiled in a murder investigation.
The popular dramedy was created by Rian Johnson (Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery), with Johnson writing, directing, and executive producing. Nora Zuckerman and Lilla Zuckerman are the showrunners and also serve as executive producers along with Natasha Lyonne, Nena Rodrigue, Ram Bergman, and Iain B. MacDonald.
“Poker Face is one of those rare, undeniable shows that we all fell in love with from the start,...
- 2/15/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Spoiler Alert: This interview contains spoilers from “Poker Face” Episode 5, now streaming on Peacock.
Following last week’s launch of four premise-setting episodes of Rian Johnson and Natasha Lyonne’s “Poker Face,” the new Peacock mystery series went in a drastically different direction for Episode 5, with murderers who don’t seem like the villains — until they do.
Guest-starring Judith Light and S. Epatha Merkerson as Irene Smothers and Joyce Harris, respectively, the episode, titled “Time of the Monkey,” follows the two retirement-home residents and life-long besties with a solid free-spirit streak who become friends with human lie-detector Charlie Cale (Lyonne) while she’s working in their community for her latest on-the-run gig.
“You want her to be friends with these cool women and be ride or die with them — and instead they break her heart. And it’s really hard for her,” co-showrunner Nora Zuckerman told Variety.
Charlie is completely...
Following last week’s launch of four premise-setting episodes of Rian Johnson and Natasha Lyonne’s “Poker Face,” the new Peacock mystery series went in a drastically different direction for Episode 5, with murderers who don’t seem like the villains — until they do.
Guest-starring Judith Light and S. Epatha Merkerson as Irene Smothers and Joyce Harris, respectively, the episode, titled “Time of the Monkey,” follows the two retirement-home residents and life-long besties with a solid free-spirit streak who become friends with human lie-detector Charlie Cale (Lyonne) while she’s working in their community for her latest on-the-run gig.
“You want her to be friends with these cool women and be ride or die with them — and instead they break her heart. And it’s really hard for her,” co-showrunner Nora Zuckerman told Variety.
Charlie is completely...
- 2/2/2023
- by Jennifer Maas
- Variety Film + TV
“There’s something about a rumpled person moving through the world and cracking a case that brings me joy,” says Natasha Lyonne. It shows: The Russian Doll star embraces playing Charlie Cale, a scruffy, sharp-eyed, Columbo-esque sleuth in Peacock‘s Poker Face. The ex–poker player uses her skill as a human lie detector to solve murders in this engrossing case-of-the-week drama. (Credit: Phillip Caruso/Peacock) In the opener, Charlie unravels a tricky double homicide, but the fallout leads a casino mogul to put a hit on her, and she leaves town pursued by a thug (Benjamin Bratt). Each episode takes her to a new locale, cash-paying gig, and injustice to set right in what amounts to a cross-country crime-solving road trip. “What Charlie prizes above all is integrity. It’s like John Lennon says [in the song], ‘Just gimme some truth,’” says Lyonne, who executive produces with Rian Johnson of Knives Out fame.
- 1/22/2023
- TV Insider
Natasha Lyonne is heading back to television in “Poker Face”, a new Peacock whodunit that marks the first TV series for “Knives Out” director Rian Johnson.
On Wednesday, Oct. 26, Peacock dropped the first trailer for the upcoming series starring the “Russian Doll”/”Orange Is the New Black” star.
Photo by: Phillip Caruso/Peacock
“‘Poker Face’ is a mystery-of-the-week series following Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie, who has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying,” reads Peacocks synopsis of the series’ 10-episode first season.
Read More: Natasha Lyonne Impersonated By Ex Fred Armisen, Maya Rudolph During ‘Saturday Night Live’ Monologue
“She hits the road with her Plymouth Barracuda,” the synopsis continues, “and with every stop encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can’t help but solve.”
Photo by: Evans Vestal Ward/Peacock
Each episode will bring Charlie face-to-face with a new murderer, each played by a different guest actor; in fact,...
On Wednesday, Oct. 26, Peacock dropped the first trailer for the upcoming series starring the “Russian Doll”/”Orange Is the New Black” star.
Photo by: Phillip Caruso/Peacock
“‘Poker Face’ is a mystery-of-the-week series following Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie, who has an extraordinary ability to determine when someone is lying,” reads Peacocks synopsis of the series’ 10-episode first season.
Read More: Natasha Lyonne Impersonated By Ex Fred Armisen, Maya Rudolph During ‘Saturday Night Live’ Monologue
“She hits the road with her Plymouth Barracuda,” the synopsis continues, “and with every stop encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can’t help but solve.”
Photo by: Evans Vestal Ward/Peacock
Each episode will bring Charlie face-to-face with a new murderer, each played by a different guest actor; in fact,...
- 10/27/2022
- by Brent Furdyk
- ET Canada
Peacock is giving viewers their first look at the highly-anticipated Natasha Lyonne–Rian Johnson collaboration, Poker Face by unveiling the premiere date, a teaser, and photos from the mystery series. Debuting Thursday, January 26, 2023, with the first four episodes, Poker Face will drop new installments on a weekly basis each Thursday following the premiere. The 10-episode mystery-of-the-week series follows Lyonne’s Charlie Cale, someone who has a keen ability to determine when someone is lying. Hitting the road with her Plymouth Barracuda, Charlie encounters a new cast of characters and strange crimes she can’t help but solve with every stop she makes along her journey. Johnson who is best known by audiences for Knives Out and the forthcoming sequel Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery serves as creator, writer, and director on the project led by the Russian Doll and Orange Is the New Black actress. (Credit: Phillip Caruso/Peacock...
- 10/26/2022
- TV Insider
In the world of celebrity spouse reality shows, it doesn't get any uglier than TLC's new offering.
"Starter Wives Confidential," premiering Tuesday, Jan. 29, looks at seven women who stood by their men through thick and thin -- until success, fame, infidelity or violence ended their relationships. Unfortunately, the only thing that stinks worse than the show's dirty laundry may be the show itself.
The ringleader is TV personality and media entrepreneur Monica Joseph-Taylor, estranged spouse of hip-hop DJ Funkmaster Flex. She organizes a cadre of women in similar situations to appear on the show: Zakia Baum, ex-girlfriend of rapper Maino; Cheryl Caruso, ex-wife of convicted mobster Phil Caruso; Josie Harris, ex-girlfriend of boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.; Liza Morales, ex-girlfriend of NBA player Lamar Odom, who's currently married to Khloe Kardashian; Tashera Simmons, ex of rapper Dmx; and Shaniqua Tompkins, ex-girlfriend of rapper 50 Cent.
In the pilot episode, Joseph-Taylor gathers three...
"Starter Wives Confidential," premiering Tuesday, Jan. 29, looks at seven women who stood by their men through thick and thin -- until success, fame, infidelity or violence ended their relationships. Unfortunately, the only thing that stinks worse than the show's dirty laundry may be the show itself.
The ringleader is TV personality and media entrepreneur Monica Joseph-Taylor, estranged spouse of hip-hop DJ Funkmaster Flex. She organizes a cadre of women in similar situations to appear on the show: Zakia Baum, ex-girlfriend of rapper Maino; Cheryl Caruso, ex-wife of convicted mobster Phil Caruso; Josie Harris, ex-girlfriend of boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.; Liza Morales, ex-girlfriend of NBA player Lamar Odom, who's currently married to Khloe Kardashian; Tashera Simmons, ex of rapper Dmx; and Shaniqua Tompkins, ex-girlfriend of rapper 50 Cent.
In the pilot episode, Joseph-Taylor gathers three...
- 1/29/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Watch out, "Hollywood Exes" -- there's a new batch of former celebrity spouses getting their own show. TLC has started production on "Starter Wives" (working title), a four episode series following the lives of ex-wives and ex-girlfriends of the rich and famous.
The cast of "Starter Wives" includes:
Zakia Baum: Ex-girlfriend of Jermaine “Maino” Coleman and mother of his son.
Cheryl Caruso: Ex-wife of mobster Phillip Caruso and mother of his two daughters.
Josie Harris: Ex-girlfriend of Floyd Mayweather and mother of his three children.
Monica Joseph-Taylor: soon to be ex-wife of Aston “Funkmaster Flex” Taylor and mother to his two children.
Liza Morales: Ex-girlfriend of Lamar Odom and mother of his three children.
Tashera Simmons: Ex-wife of Earl “Dmx” Simmons and mother of four of his children.
Shaniqua Tompkins: Ex-girlfriend of Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and mother of his son.
TLC describes the series as a look...
The cast of "Starter Wives" includes:
Zakia Baum: Ex-girlfriend of Jermaine “Maino” Coleman and mother of his son.
Cheryl Caruso: Ex-wife of mobster Phillip Caruso and mother of his two daughters.
Josie Harris: Ex-girlfriend of Floyd Mayweather and mother of his three children.
Monica Joseph-Taylor: soon to be ex-wife of Aston “Funkmaster Flex” Taylor and mother to his two children.
Liza Morales: Ex-girlfriend of Lamar Odom and mother of his three children.
Tashera Simmons: Ex-wife of Earl “Dmx” Simmons and mother of four of his children.
Shaniqua Tompkins: Ex-girlfriend of Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and mother of his son.
TLC describes the series as a look...
- 10/2/2012
- by Chris Harnick
- Huffington Post
See how Ethan Hawke plays a true crime novelist who discovers a box of mysterious, disturbing home movies that plunge his family into a nightmarish experience of supernatural horror in the latest stills from Sinister, a frightening new thriller from the producer of the Paranormal Activity films and the writer-director of The Exorcism Of Emily Rose.
See it first with a hometown premiere: http://www.haveyouseenhim.com/seeitfirst/index.html
Sinister stars stars Ethan Hawke, Vincent D.Onofrio, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone, Nicholas King, Clare Foley, Victoria Leigh, Michael Hall D.Addario and Fred Dalton Thompson.
From director Scott Derrickson (The Day The Earth Stood Still), Sinister hits theaters October 5.
http://www.haveyouseenhim.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SinisterMovie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/summitent #SeeSinister https://twitter.com/blumhouse
Photo: Phil Caruso © 2011 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All rights reserved.
(Via elseptimoarte.net)...
See it first with a hometown premiere: http://www.haveyouseenhim.com/seeitfirst/index.html
Sinister stars stars Ethan Hawke, Vincent D.Onofrio, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone, Nicholas King, Clare Foley, Victoria Leigh, Michael Hall D.Addario and Fred Dalton Thompson.
From director Scott Derrickson (The Day The Earth Stood Still), Sinister hits theaters October 5.
http://www.haveyouseenhim.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SinisterMovie
Twitter: https://twitter.com/summitent #SeeSinister https://twitter.com/blumhouse
Photo: Phil Caruso © 2011 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All rights reserved.
(Via elseptimoarte.net)...
- 9/4/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Charlize Theron, Young Adult Yesterday, Twitter was abuzz with comments about a proposed Bridesmaids sequel sans Kristen Wiig. Let Universal try that. Wiig and fellow writer Annie Mumolo have been shortlisted for their Bridesmaids screenplay for the 2012 Writers Guild of America Awards. Paul Feig directed the sleeper hit comedy. [Full list of WGA Award motion picture nominations.] The Bridesmaids duo is competing with Woody Allen for his biggest box-office hit in years, Midnight in Paris; Will Reiser for the well-received but financially disappointing Summit Entertainment release 50/50; Tom McCarthy for the little-seen Win Win, starring Paul Giamatti; and Diablo Cody for Young Adult, a comedy directed by Jason Reitman and starring Charlize Theron that has failed to ignite at the North American box office. Eligible in the original screenplay category but left out were Terrence Malick's Palme d'Or winner The Tree of Life, Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar (screenplay by Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black), Dee Rees' Pariah,...
- 1/5/2012
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
Chicago – Instead of trying to fill giant shoes in the shadows of his legendary filmmaker father Ivan Reitman (“Ghostbusters”), Jason Reitman has been successfully blazing his own path of films without message that are designed to incite your thoughts and question your actions.
Following the Golden Globe-nominated “Thank You For Smoking,” Oscar-winning “Juno” (with writer Diablo Cody) and Oscar-nominated “Up in the Air,” Reitman’s second collab with Cody switches to the journey of a “Young Adult” who seemingly learns to change her wicked ways but fails to.
Jason Reitman defiantly poses for the HollywoodChicago.com lens on on Dec. 7, 2011 for “Young Adult”.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com
That, Jason Reitman says, is reality more often than not. He says people typically don’t make drastic improvements with themselves unless, for example, it’s part of a 12-step program. “Young Adult” stars Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson,...
Following the Golden Globe-nominated “Thank You For Smoking,” Oscar-winning “Juno” (with writer Diablo Cody) and Oscar-nominated “Up in the Air,” Reitman’s second collab with Cody switches to the journey of a “Young Adult” who seemingly learns to change her wicked ways but fails to.
Jason Reitman defiantly poses for the HollywoodChicago.com lens on on Dec. 7, 2011 for “Young Adult”.
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com
That, Jason Reitman says, is reality more often than not. He says people typically don’t make drastic improvements with themselves unless, for example, it’s part of a 12-step program. “Young Adult” stars Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson,...
- 12/18/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Photo credit: Phil Caruso
Watch the first trailer for Jason Reitman’s Young Adult. Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who hasn’t quite gotten over high school, either.
Young Adult
Paramount Pictures and Mandate Pictures Present
A Mr. Mudd Production
In Association with Right of Way Films and Denver & Delilah Films
A Film by Jason Reitman
Young Adult
Executive Producers Nathan Kahane, John Malkovich, Steven Rales, Helen Estabrook
Produced by Lianne Halfon, Russell Smith,
Diablo Cody, Mason Novick, Jason Reitman
Written by Diablo Cody
Directed by Jason Reitman
Cast: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser
Young Adult,...
Watch the first trailer for Jason Reitman’s Young Adult. Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who hasn’t quite gotten over high school, either.
Young Adult
Paramount Pictures and Mandate Pictures Present
A Mr. Mudd Production
In Association with Right of Way Films and Denver & Delilah Films
A Film by Jason Reitman
Young Adult
Executive Producers Nathan Kahane, John Malkovich, Steven Rales, Helen Estabrook
Produced by Lianne Halfon, Russell Smith,
Diablo Cody, Mason Novick, Jason Reitman
Written by Diablo Cody
Directed by Jason Reitman
Cast: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser
Young Adult,...
- 10/7/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Photo credit: Phil Caruso
Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary in this new photo from Paramount Pictures and Mandate Pictures Young Adult. The film reunites Jason Reitman, Academy Award© nominated director of Juno, and Academy Award© winning screenwriter, Diablo Cody.
Synopsis:
Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who hasn’t quite gotten over high school, either.
Paramount Pictures and Mandate Pictures Presents a Mr. Mudd Production. In Association with Right of Way Films and Denver & Delilah Films, the film is from executive producers Nathan Kahane, John Malkovich, Steven Rales, Helen Estabrook.
Young Adult stars Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, and Elizabeth Reaser.
Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary in this new photo from Paramount Pictures and Mandate Pictures Young Adult. The film reunites Jason Reitman, Academy Award© nominated director of Juno, and Academy Award© winning screenwriter, Diablo Cody.
Synopsis:
Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who hasn’t quite gotten over high school, either.
Paramount Pictures and Mandate Pictures Presents a Mr. Mudd Production. In Association with Right of Way Films and Denver & Delilah Films, the film is from executive producers Nathan Kahane, John Malkovich, Steven Rales, Helen Estabrook.
Young Adult stars Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, and Elizabeth Reaser.
- 8/15/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Phillip V. Caruso/HBO Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin
The first picture of Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin has been released and it might convert some of the non-believers. Moore, who will play Palin in the HBO film “Game Change,” may very well give Tina Fey a run for her money as the bespectacled former governor. Then again, she might look the part, but if her accent is as hokey as her Bostonian attempt on “30 Rock,” it will be game over.
The first picture of Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin has been released and it might convert some of the non-believers. Moore, who will play Palin in the HBO film “Game Change,” may very well give Tina Fey a run for her money as the bespectacled former governor. Then again, she might look the part, but if her accent is as hokey as her Bostonian attempt on “30 Rock,” it will be game over.
- 4/27/2011
- by WSJ Staff
- Speakeasy/Wall Street Journal
Chicago – The suspense thriller is a delicate art that depends on situational realism and unlikely circumstances cohabiting in a heart-pounding plot. The Master of the genre was Alfred Hitchcock, who often put ordinary people in these nail biting scenarios. Director Paul Haggis (”Crash”) uses this theme and does the Master proud in “The Next Three Days.”
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Russell Crowe is John Brennan, a nebbishy Pittsburgh college instructor with a hard-charging wife Lara (Elizabeth Banks) and young son. The film opens with a flashback to a birthday dinner with John’s brother and sister-in-law. There is an outburst at dinner, and Lara is overzealously angry. The confrontation turns ugly, and John leads his wife out of the restaurant.
There is something strange in the context of the outburst, as Lara discovers a spot of blood on her coat. She is washing the stain out the next morning as the police burst in,...
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Russell Crowe is John Brennan, a nebbishy Pittsburgh college instructor with a hard-charging wife Lara (Elizabeth Banks) and young son. The film opens with a flashback to a birthday dinner with John’s brother and sister-in-law. There is an outburst at dinner, and Lara is overzealously angry. The confrontation turns ugly, and John leads his wife out of the restaurant.
There is something strange in the context of the outburst, as Lara discovers a spot of blood on her coat. She is washing the stain out the next morning as the police burst in,...
- 11/19/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Solitary Man is a very familiar film on the surface, appearing to give us a rather simple story of mid-life crisis gone horribly wrong. Ben Kalmen (Michael Douglas) was a very big man almost seven years ago, but the time we’re going to spend with him is near the end of a bizarre tailspin.
The film opens with the song “Solitary Man,” which is either brilliant, or horribly lazy, because the song gives us the exact opposite theme we’re about to watch play out. We see Ben visit his doctor who notes some sort of problem with Ben’s heart. The doctor needs to run more tests before he can say anything for sure, but Ben never goes back, and we jump ahead seven years to learn what that fateful non-diagnosis has brought about.
Ben, not so long ago a local celebrity, wealthy car dealer, and married to...
The film opens with the song “Solitary Man,” which is either brilliant, or horribly lazy, because the song gives us the exact opposite theme we’re about to watch play out. We see Ben visit his doctor who notes some sort of problem with Ben’s heart. The doctor needs to run more tests before he can say anything for sure, but Ben never goes back, and we jump ahead seven years to learn what that fateful non-diagnosis has brought about.
Ben, not so long ago a local celebrity, wealthy car dealer, and married to...
- 9/11/2010
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
Chicago – A blue collar worker father who has a secret Marlon Brando obsession (gasp!), a son with an improbable fetish and a daughter who quits college to…strip, this is a normal day-in-the-life in the new film “City Island.”
Rating: 3.0/5.0
Andy Garcia is Vince Rizzo, a prison guard at a jail on City Island, a village within the Bronx borough of New York City. He is a family man, with wife Joyce (Julianna Margulies), son Vince Jr. (Ezra Miller) and college age daughter Vivian (Dominik García-Lorido, Garcia’s real-life daughter). Vince is somewhat frustrated with his life, harboring a secret desire to be an actor, in the mold of his hero Marlon Brando.
But he is not the only family member with a secret. Vince Jr. is a typical teen-ager, except for his strange online fixation with porcine women. Vivian has lost a scholarship from her college so logically she becomes a stripper.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
Andy Garcia is Vince Rizzo, a prison guard at a jail on City Island, a village within the Bronx borough of New York City. He is a family man, with wife Joyce (Julianna Margulies), son Vince Jr. (Ezra Miller) and college age daughter Vivian (Dominik García-Lorido, Garcia’s real-life daughter). Vince is somewhat frustrated with his life, harboring a secret desire to be an actor, in the mold of his hero Marlon Brando.
But he is not the only family member with a secret. Vince Jr. is a typical teen-ager, except for his strange online fixation with porcine women. Vivian has lost a scholarship from her college so logically she becomes a stripper.
- 4/2/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – Andy Garcia has a movie star presence, combined with a true appreciation for his profession and craft. He takes on a character role in the upcoming film “City Island,” as a New York borough prison guard who longs to be an actor.
That desire is not too far off from Garcia’s actual life. The son of Cuban expatriates who escaped the island during the early days of Fidel Castro, Garcia climbed up the show business ladder, beginning his acting journey by taking bit parts in 1980s television programs such as “Hill Street Blues.” He was noticed by director Brian De Palma in the 1986 film “8 Million Ways to Die,” which led to his breakthrough role in De Palma’s “The Untouchables.”
Stardom was next, as Francis Ford Coppola cast him over several others as Vincent Mancini in 1990’s “The Godfather, Part III.” His performance garnered him a nomination for...
That desire is not too far off from Garcia’s actual life. The son of Cuban expatriates who escaped the island during the early days of Fidel Castro, Garcia climbed up the show business ladder, beginning his acting journey by taking bit parts in 1980s television programs such as “Hill Street Blues.” He was noticed by director Brian De Palma in the 1986 film “8 Million Ways to Die,” which led to his breakthrough role in De Palma’s “The Untouchables.”
Stardom was next, as Francis Ford Coppola cast him over several others as Vincent Mancini in 1990’s “The Godfather, Part III.” His performance garnered him a nomination for...
- 3/31/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – The “thin blue line,’ that imaginary border that separates society between order and chaos, is experienced on a daily basis by the police “force.” The human beings knighted with this responsibility are “Brooklyn’s Finest.”
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Antoine Fuqua, the director of “Training Day,” also helms this cop drama about a seedy Brooklyn precinct populated by different levels of ethical policeman psychosis. Ethan Hawke is Sal, a by-the-numbers drug enforcer whose Catholic roots bears seven children. Richard Gere is Eddie, a 22 year veteran on the cusp of retirement, portrayed not as the cliché that’s expected.
They are dealing with community tensions involving a shooting of an honor student in the gritty Brooklyn projects by a corrupt cop. The feds are involved, and have undercover agents on the street, including Don Cheadle as Tango, an ex-player turned informant. He anticipates the return of his former crime compatriot, Caz (Wesley Snipes...
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Antoine Fuqua, the director of “Training Day,” also helms this cop drama about a seedy Brooklyn precinct populated by different levels of ethical policeman psychosis. Ethan Hawke is Sal, a by-the-numbers drug enforcer whose Catholic roots bears seven children. Richard Gere is Eddie, a 22 year veteran on the cusp of retirement, portrayed not as the cliché that’s expected.
They are dealing with community tensions involving a shooting of an honor student in the gritty Brooklyn projects by a corrupt cop. The feds are involved, and have undercover agents on the street, including Don Cheadle as Tango, an ex-player turned informant. He anticipates the return of his former crime compatriot, Caz (Wesley Snipes...
- 3/5/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – Wesley Snipes is a great dresser, among other talents. The coolness and intuitive skills that he had displayed in “Blade,” “White Men Don’t Jump’ and “Passenger 57” is in evidence again with his role of Caz in “Brooklyn’s Finest.”
Snipes, appearing to promote the film in Chicago with director Antoine Fuqua, is part of an exceptional cast which includes Don Cheadle, Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Lili Taylor and Ellen Barkin. Brooklyn’s Finest is an unflinching look at the politics and sorrows of the “thin blue line,” the police officers responsible for “protecting” society.
Brooklyn Heights: Wesley Snipes and Don Cheadle in ‘Brooklyn’s Finest’
Photo Credit: Phillip V. Caruso for © Brooklyn’s Finest Productions, Inc.
HollywoodChicago sat down with both Wesley Snipes and Director Antoine Fuqua to talk about the talent and influences that characterize the drama, plus discussed the career dynamics of Snipes, a true king of cool.
Snipes, appearing to promote the film in Chicago with director Antoine Fuqua, is part of an exceptional cast which includes Don Cheadle, Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Lili Taylor and Ellen Barkin. Brooklyn’s Finest is an unflinching look at the politics and sorrows of the “thin blue line,” the police officers responsible for “protecting” society.
Brooklyn Heights: Wesley Snipes and Don Cheadle in ‘Brooklyn’s Finest’
Photo Credit: Phillip V. Caruso for © Brooklyn’s Finest Productions, Inc.
HollywoodChicago sat down with both Wesley Snipes and Director Antoine Fuqua to talk about the talent and influences that characterize the drama, plus discussed the career dynamics of Snipes, a true king of cool.
- 3/4/2010
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – Biggie Smalls deserves better than ‘Notorious’. It’s not that there’s anything drastically wrong with this reasonably well-made and very well-performed biopic but it’s a by-the-numbers, predictable film about an icon who was simply one of the best that ever lived. The ‘Big Poppa’ who could ‘Hypnotize’ with his rhymes should have more than an average biopic.
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0 The problem with “Notorious” is simple - if you care enough about The Notorious B.I.G. to watch a movie about his life than you will learn absolutely nothing from the film. It hits all of the major points - his drug-dealing youth, supportive mother, relationships with Faith Evans and Lil Kim, partnership with Puff Daddy, rivalry with Tupac, the two shootings, roll credits. There’s not enough edge for a man who brought so much to his flow and not enough surprises for a man who...
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0 The problem with “Notorious” is simple - if you care enough about The Notorious B.I.G. to watch a movie about his life than you will learn absolutely nothing from the film. It hits all of the major points - his drug-dealing youth, supportive mother, relationships with Faith Evans and Lil Kim, partnership with Puff Daddy, rivalry with Tupac, the two shootings, roll credits. There’s not enough edge for a man who brought so much to his flow and not enough surprises for a man who...
- 4/30/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – Channing Tatum, the star of “Fighting” and “G.I. Joe,” may want to brush up on his vampire mythology because Melissa Rosenberg, the writer of “Twilight” and “The Twilight Saga’s New Moon” wants the muscular leading man to play Riley in the third film in the Stephenie Meyer franchise, “The Twilight Saga’s Eclipse”.
According to E! News today, Rosenberg spoke to the network over the weekend at the Los Angeles Time Book Festival benefit for the Writers Guild Foundation and said, “There’s a very big battle at the end with Riley, and I think Channing would do that so well. And there are some complexities to the character. He really is tragic. He’s a puppet for Victoria [bad-girl vampire played by Rachelle Lefevre]. So he has to break your heart a little bit at the end when he realizes that she doesn’t want him. Channing could do that beautifully.”
Star...
According to E! News today, Rosenberg spoke to the network over the weekend at the Los Angeles Time Book Festival benefit for the Writers Guild Foundation and said, “There’s a very big battle at the end with Riley, and I think Channing would do that so well. And there are some complexities to the character. He really is tragic. He’s a puppet for Victoria [bad-girl vampire played by Rachelle Lefevre]. So he has to break your heart a little bit at the end when he realizes that she doesn’t want him. Channing could do that beautifully.”
Star...
- 4/27/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – This 21-image slideshow contains the press images for Rogue Pictures’ “Fighting,” starring Channing Tatum, Terrence Howard, Zulay Henao, Brian White, and Luis Guzman. Written by Dito Montiel and Robert Munich and directed by Montiel, the film opens on Friday, April 24th, 2009. It is rated PG-13.
Synopsis: “WSmall-town boy Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum) has come to New York City with nothing. Barely earning a living selling counterfeit goods on the streets, his luck changes when scam artist Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard) sees that he has a natural talent for streetfighting. When Harvey offers Shawn help at making the real cash, the two form an uneasy partnership.
As Shawn’s manager, Harvey introduces him to the corrupt bare-knuckle circuit, where rich men bet on disposable pawns. Almost overnight, he becomes a star brawler, taking down professional boxers, mixed martial arts champs and ultimate fighters in a series of staggeringly intense bouts.
Synopsis: “WSmall-town boy Shawn MacArthur (Channing Tatum) has come to New York City with nothing. Barely earning a living selling counterfeit goods on the streets, his luck changes when scam artist Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard) sees that he has a natural talent for streetfighting. When Harvey offers Shawn help at making the real cash, the two form an uneasy partnership.
As Shawn’s manager, Harvey introduces him to the corrupt bare-knuckle circuit, where rich men bet on disposable pawns. Almost overnight, he becomes a star brawler, taking down professional boxers, mixed martial arts champs and ultimate fighters in a series of staggeringly intense bouts.
- 4/6/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – Universal has released a slate of new images from their 2009 schedule of films. We brought you information and the first available images last year, but we’re back with 23 more exciting images.
This 23-image slideshow contains official press images and schedule information for the announced slate of films to be released by Universal Pictures in 2009 including new movies starring Ben Affleck, Russell Crowe, Matt Damon, Benicio Del Toro, Vince Vaughn, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Johnny Depp, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
These 2009 Universal Pictures include, in release order, “Fast & Furious,” “State of Play,” “Fighting,” “Wild Child,” “Drag Me to Hell,” “Land of the Lost,” “Public Enemies,” “Funny People,” “The Wolfman,” “The Green Zone,” “The Boat That Rocked,” “The Last House on the Left,” “Couples Retreat,” and “25/8”. All films have images in the slideshow below.
The release dates, cast lists, and filmmaker information for these Universal Pictures films can be found below in release date order,...
This 23-image slideshow contains official press images and schedule information for the announced slate of films to be released by Universal Pictures in 2009 including new movies starring Ben Affleck, Russell Crowe, Matt Damon, Benicio Del Toro, Vince Vaughn, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Johnny Depp, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
These 2009 Universal Pictures include, in release order, “Fast & Furious,” “State of Play,” “Fighting,” “Wild Child,” “Drag Me to Hell,” “Land of the Lost,” “Public Enemies,” “Funny People,” “The Wolfman,” “The Green Zone,” “The Boat That Rocked,” “The Last House on the Left,” “Couples Retreat,” and “25/8”. All films have images in the slideshow below.
The release dates, cast lists, and filmmaker information for these Universal Pictures films can be found below in release date order,...
- 1/13/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – This 11-image slideshow contains official press images for Fox Searchlight’s “Notorious,” which stars Jamal Woolard, Derek Luke, Anthony Mackie, Antonique Smith, Naturi Naughton, and Angela Bassett, from writers Reggie Rock Bythewood and Cheo Hodari Coker and director George Tillman Jr.. The film opens on Jan. 16, 2009.
Official synopsis: “In just a few short years, Notorious B.I.G. rose from the streets of Brooklyn to become one of the most influential hip hop artists of all time. B.I.G. was a gifted storyteller; his narratives about violent life on the streets were told with a gritty, objective realism that won him enormous respect and credibility. His stories were universal and gave a voice to his generation.”
You can click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through this slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All photos credited to Phil Caruso and courtesy of Fox Searchlight.
Notorious...
Official synopsis: “In just a few short years, Notorious B.I.G. rose from the streets of Brooklyn to become one of the most influential hip hop artists of all time. B.I.G. was a gifted storyteller; his narratives about violent life on the streets were told with a gritty, objective realism that won him enormous respect and credibility. His stories were universal and gave a voice to his generation.”
You can click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through this slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All photos credited to Phil Caruso and courtesy of Fox Searchlight.
Notorious...
- 1/8/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
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