Here’s a look at this week’s biggest premieres, parties and openings in Los Angeles and New York, including events for Poor Things, The Color Purple and American Fiction.
Leave the World Behind premiere
Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la, Kevin Bacon, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans and writer-director Sam Esmail walked the carpet at the NYC premiere of their Netflix thriller on Monday.
Ethan Hawke and Julia Roberts Kevin Bacon, Sam Esmail, Ethan Hawke, Julia Roberts, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans, Mahershala Ali and Myha’la Herrold
American Fiction premiere
Writer-director Cord Jefferson joined stars Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross and Sterling K. Brown at their film’s Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday.
Cord Jefferson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown, Erika Alexander and Adam Brody
Wish music celebration
The team behind the music of Wish, including star Ariana DeBose, celebrated with an event in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Leave the World Behind premiere
Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Myha’la, Kevin Bacon, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans and writer-director Sam Esmail walked the carpet at the NYC premiere of their Netflix thriller on Monday.
Ethan Hawke and Julia Roberts Kevin Bacon, Sam Esmail, Ethan Hawke, Julia Roberts, Farrah Mackenzie, Charlie Evans, Mahershala Ali and Myha’la Herrold
American Fiction premiere
Writer-director Cord Jefferson joined stars Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross and Sterling K. Brown at their film’s Los Angeles premiere on Tuesday.
Cord Jefferson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jeffrey Wright, Sterling K. Brown, Erika Alexander and Adam Brody
Wish music celebration
The team behind the music of Wish, including star Ariana DeBose, celebrated with an event in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
- 12/8/2023
- by Kirsten Chuba
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Five top film directors will reveal secrets behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with 2024 awards contenders. They will participate in two video discussions to premiere on Tuesday, December 5, at 4:00 p.m. Pt; 7:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Christopher Rosen and a roundtable chat with all of the group together.
RSVP today to our entire ongoing contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
American Fiction (MGM)
Synopsis: A novelist who is fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.
Bio: Cord Jefferson was an Emmy winner for “Watchmen.” Other...
RSVP today to our entire ongoing contenders panel series by clicking here to book your free reservation. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
American Fiction (MGM)
Synopsis: A novelist who is fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment uses a pen name to write a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.
Bio: Cord Jefferson was an Emmy winner for “Watchmen.” Other...
- 11/28/2023
- by Chris Beachum and Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Clockwise from top left: The Beanie Bubble, Tetris, The Banker, Causeway (all Apple TV+)Graphic: AVClub
Unlike Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu, which each offer movies to stream from many studios both large and small, Apple TV+ focuses almost exclusively on Apple Originals that are, for the most part, only available on its platform.
Unlike Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu, which each offer movies to stream from many studios both large and small, Apple TV+ focuses almost exclusively on Apple Originals that are, for the most part, only available on its platform.
- 11/25/2023
- by The A.V. Club
- avclub.com
Intellectual property — the books, films, characters and properties that get butts into seats — has long been a cornerstone of Hollywood moviemaking. But many of this year’s films have drawn from less likely, though perhaps inevitable, sources of inspiration: products and brands. Movies ranging from “Barbie” and “Air” to “BlackBerry” and Michael Mann’s upcoming “Ferrari” all to one extent or another leverage the namesake of the object, or the business associated with it in the name of attracting audiences to theaters.
This parade of product-driven titles seems to mark an inflection point in a crowded entertainment landscape where consumer recognizability has become one of the most important (or seemingly only) factor when deciding which movies to make.
At their best, these movies hit it out of the park with critics and moviegoers, as in the case with “Barbie,” the biggest movie of the year, or gain critical heat, as with “Air,...
This parade of product-driven titles seems to mark an inflection point in a crowded entertainment landscape where consumer recognizability has become one of the most important (or seemingly only) factor when deciding which movies to make.
At their best, these movies hit it out of the park with critics and moviegoers, as in the case with “Barbie,” the biggest movie of the year, or gain critical heat, as with “Air,...
- 11/17/2023
- by Todd Gilchrist
- Variety Film + TV
The Beanie Bubble is about the Beanie Baby craze of the 1990s and the drama behind the scenes. Zach Galifianakis plays Ty Warner, the founder of the toy line. Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook and Geraldine Viswanathan play the three women in Warner’s life who found each other, and success, in the company. Ok Go singer Damian Kulash directed with his wife, screenwriter Kristin Gore.
Kulash said he hoped people couldn’t tell where the movie’s “needle drops” of archival music ended and his original score, with Nathan Barr, began. The film includes songs by The Cure, Inxs, The Cranberries, Queen and more.
“The job of the score was not to offset that stuff but rather to make it unclear when you’re in a pop song and when you’re not,” Kulash said.
Kulash said they even fooled the Apple legal team with the selection they performed for...
Kulash said he hoped people couldn’t tell where the movie’s “needle drops” of archival music ended and his original score, with Nathan Barr, began. The film includes songs by The Cure, Inxs, The Cranberries, Queen and more.
“The job of the score was not to offset that stuff but rather to make it unclear when you’re in a pop song and when you’re not,” Kulash said.
Kulash said they even fooled the Apple legal team with the selection they performed for...
- 11/10/2023
- by Fred Topel
- Deadline Film + TV
Because "Futurama" is set 1,000 years in the future, show creators David X. Cohen and Matt Groening had to invent a sci-fi conceit that would provide an organic reason to include celebrity cameos. Thanks to a special fluid, human heads can be kept alive in jars more or less indefinitely. In the very first episode, the head of Dick Clark hosted a televised New Year's Eve special to ring in the year 3000. Clark played himself. Since then, multiple other celebrities have played their own severed heads, including the Beastie Boys, the cast of "Star Trek," Al Gore, Conan O'Brien, Beck, Lucy Liu, Penn Jillette, and most recently, Bill Nye.
Of course, Cohen and Groening were more creative than merely storing severed heads in jars, and multiple other notable actors have continued to appear on "Futurama" as robots, aliens, space deities, and other sci-fi creatures. John Goodman, for instance, played the homicidal...
Of course, Cohen and Groening were more creative than merely storing severed heads in jars, and multiple other notable actors have continued to appear on "Futurama" as robots, aliens, space deities, and other sci-fi creatures. John Goodman, for instance, played the homicidal...
- 10/8/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
When the Beanie Baby craze reached its apex in the late Nineties, around the time desperate suburbanites were shelling out small fortunes for the purple Princess Diana bear on eBay and ransacking shopping malls whenever rumors hit that a new shipment had arrived, screenwriter Kristin Gore and Ok Go frontman Damian Kulash were barely aware it was even happening. “We were in college,” Gore says. “We were too old to be collectors. We just sort of missed it.”
“I was snobby about it,” Kulash adds. “I was leaving my teens and going into my twenties,...
“I was snobby about it,” Kulash adds. “I was leaving my teens and going into my twenties,...
- 7/29/2023
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
This summer, “Barbie” has revived the box office, making nearly $500 million worldwide in its first week. Earlier this year, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” surpassed the billion-dollar mark. If those two success are any indication, it seems that nostalgia sells — particularly nostalgia for classic toys and characters to which moviegoers have a personal connection.
“The Beanie Bubble” (streaming Friday on Apple TV+) centers around the Beanie Baby craze of the ’90s. But the movie is not really about Beanie Babies.
Based on the book “The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute” by author Zac Bissonnette, the film is the feature directorial debut for co-directors and real-life married couple, musician Damian Kulash and Kristin Gore, who wrote the screenplay. The movie is set against the backdrop of the rise in popularity of Beanie Babies in the 1990’s. But what the filmmakers are aiming to tell is a much deeper,...
“The Beanie Bubble” (streaming Friday on Apple TV+) centers around the Beanie Baby craze of the ’90s. But the movie is not really about Beanie Babies.
Based on the book “The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute” by author Zac Bissonnette, the film is the feature directorial debut for co-directors and real-life married couple, musician Damian Kulash and Kristin Gore, who wrote the screenplay. The movie is set against the backdrop of the rise in popularity of Beanie Babies in the 1990’s. But what the filmmakers are aiming to tell is a much deeper,...
- 7/28/2023
- by Elizabeth Wagmeister
- Variety Film + TV
One cannot hold it against Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash that their Beanie Babies biopic, appropriately titled The Beanie Bubble, is arriving late in what has suddenly become something of a trend. Just a few months ago, the prospect of a “Michael Jordan movie” being actually about Mike’s Air Jordan sneakers seemed like a bizarre novelty. In (brief) hindsight though, it now seems like the kickoff for a spate of films with their hearts set on streaming. Air, Tetris, BlackBerry, Pinball, and Flamin’ Hot have all attempted to tell stories of American (or Canadian) capitalism gone super-turbo. Some of them are feel-good human interest yarns (or perhaps just commercials) while others are Icarus parables about company executives who flew too close to the sun.
Either way, the best of them (and I’d argue about half are at least pretty good) have something to say beyond eulogizing a consumerist...
Either way, the best of them (and I’d argue about half are at least pretty good) have something to say beyond eulogizing a consumerist...
- 7/28/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
The Philippou brothers’ film is opening in 431 cinemas through Altitude.
Australian horror film Talk To Me is the major new title at UK-Ireland cinemas this weekend, following on from a record-breaking Barbenheimer week.
Released in 431 cinemas by Altitude, Talk To Me is a possession horror film about a group of friends who discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand.
The film, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January, is the debut feature of Australian brothers Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou.
The duo had film set experience prior to making Talk To Me, including as electrician and production...
Australian horror film Talk To Me is the major new title at UK-Ireland cinemas this weekend, following on from a record-breaking Barbenheimer week.
Released in 431 cinemas by Altitude, Talk To Me is a possession horror film about a group of friends who discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand.
The film, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January, is the debut feature of Australian brothers Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou.
The duo had film set experience prior to making Talk To Me, including as electrician and production...
- 7/28/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Well from the sea of pink still filling multiplex lobbies all across the country it appears that moviegoers are wild about toy property-based movies. Perhaps we can officially call it a genre. And this new film could be a “sub-genre” as it details the creation of a beloved plaything in, well not a docudrama, but more like a “docu-comedy”. This new flick is perhaps closer to Tetris (same producers), with elements of Air and Blackberry. Making it more engaging is that it was something of a pop culture “craze”, maybe even a “fad”. And it also benefits from a cast with some major comedy “creds”. They’re all involved with the tiny dolls that collectors thought were a big investment, which, in turn, created and inflated The Beanie Bubble.
That refers, of course, to the Beanie Babies, a 1990s sensation spearheaded by company spokesman (and face of the fad), Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis). But,...
That refers, of course, to the Beanie Babies, a 1990s sensation spearheaded by company spokesman (and face of the fad), Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis). But,...
- 7/28/2023
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
We spoke to the cast and directors of AppleTV+’s latest original feature film The Beanie Bubble.
Why did the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold? Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis) was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history. “The Beanie Bubble” is an inventive story about what and who we value, and the unsung heroes whose names didn’t appear on the heart-shaped tag.
Galifianakis revealed to us what attracted him to Ty’s character and what he remembers about the Beanie Baby boom. The actor also tells us what he thinks the majority of most billionaire types have in common and what makes them more likely to succeed in their respective fields.
We were also delighted to chat to Elizabeth Banks – the actor who plays Robbie, one of the woman behind Warner...
Why did the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold? Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis) was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history. “The Beanie Bubble” is an inventive story about what and who we value, and the unsung heroes whose names didn’t appear on the heart-shaped tag.
Galifianakis revealed to us what attracted him to Ty’s character and what he remembers about the Beanie Baby boom. The actor also tells us what he thinks the majority of most billionaire types have in common and what makes them more likely to succeed in their respective fields.
We were also delighted to chat to Elizabeth Banks – the actor who plays Robbie, one of the woman behind Warner...
- 7/27/2023
- by Linda Marric
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The new Apple TV+ film “The Beanie Bubble” takes an unconventional route to tell an unconventional story.
Based on Zac Bissonnett’s book, “The Great Beanie Baby Bubble,” the film examines the lives of three women — based on various real-life figures — at the heart of making Ty Warner’s infamous plush animals a global phenomenon. For directors Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash, they were less interested in telling the story of the Beanie Baby creator, Ty Warner, and more how the system undermined the women working for him.
“Their big obstacle was getting out of the system, or learning what was wrong with the system,” Kulash told TheWrap. “We don’t want to take you on a journey of the product at all. What we want you to do is go in thinking [about] making this cool product and then realize, along with the women, that there’s a bunch of...
Based on Zac Bissonnett’s book, “The Great Beanie Baby Bubble,” the film examines the lives of three women — based on various real-life figures — at the heart of making Ty Warner’s infamous plush animals a global phenomenon. For directors Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash, they were less interested in telling the story of the Beanie Baby creator, Ty Warner, and more how the system undermined the women working for him.
“Their big obstacle was getting out of the system, or learning what was wrong with the system,” Kulash told TheWrap. “We don’t want to take you on a journey of the product at all. What we want you to do is go in thinking [about] making this cool product and then realize, along with the women, that there’s a bunch of...
- 7/26/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
Return To Dust, an arthouse hit in China last summer before being pulled from release, opens Stateside this weekend with Film Movement presenting on two screens – NYC’s Bam Rose Cinema and the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago, expanding to LA and Seattle next Friday.
The distributor acquired the film directed by Li Ruijun after it premiered in Berlin in March, 2022 to glowing reviews, see Deadlines’s here. Hai Quing and Wu Renlin star as a middle-aged couple in a rural province encouraged to marry by their families, who see them as a burden. Love and respect slowly as they scratch out a living of extreme hardship working the land. A 95% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
First released last July in China, it played unusually well for an arthouse title there and appeared on streaming platforms in early September before disappearing later that month without explanation.
Regulators don’t...
The distributor acquired the film directed by Li Ruijun after it premiered in Berlin in March, 2022 to glowing reviews, see Deadlines’s here. Hai Quing and Wu Renlin star as a middle-aged couple in a rural province encouraged to marry by their families, who see them as a burden. Love and respect slowly as they scratch out a living of extreme hardship working the land. A 95% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
First released last July in China, it played unusually well for an arthouse title there and appeared on streaming platforms in early September before disappearing later that month without explanation.
Regulators don’t...
- 7/21/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Ok Go has shared the new track “This,” from the Apple Original Film “The Beanie Bubble.”
The band’s lead singer and guitarist Damian Kulash co-directed the film with his wife Kristin Gore, who also wrote the screenplay. According to Kulash, the idea for the song, filled with exuberant guitars and horns, was in the script: “The term said, ‘We close to unbelievably joyful music.”
The film debuts theaters on limited release on July 21 before streaming on AppleTV+ on July 28. It stars Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook and Geraldine Viswanathan and follows the story of the Beanie Baby phenomenon.
Kulash says the ending of the movie hits two emotional beats: “feeling a sense of victory and being pissed off about our system.” So, “This” needed to have a “sense of joy with a bit of melancholy and nostalgia to reflect the story and time.”
Kulash adds, “After almost two...
The band’s lead singer and guitarist Damian Kulash co-directed the film with his wife Kristin Gore, who also wrote the screenplay. According to Kulash, the idea for the song, filled with exuberant guitars and horns, was in the script: “The term said, ‘We close to unbelievably joyful music.”
The film debuts theaters on limited release on July 21 before streaming on AppleTV+ on July 28. It stars Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook and Geraldine Viswanathan and follows the story of the Beanie Baby phenomenon.
Kulash says the ending of the movie hits two emotional beats: “feeling a sense of victory and being pissed off about our system.” So, “This” needed to have a “sense of joy with a bit of melancholy and nostalgia to reflect the story and time.”
Kulash adds, “After almost two...
- 7/21/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
As cute and understuffed as the plushies alluded to by its title, Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash, Jr.’s “The Beanie Bubble” is a dramatic comedy born from the collision between two different fads: The Beanie Baby mania of the late ’90s, and the corporate biopic craze of the early 2020s.
Like “Air,” “Barbie,” “Blackberry,” and “Tetris” before it (remember when they made a movie about the thrilling race to patent “Tetris?”), this Apple TV+ original uses a footnote in the recent history of North American capitalism as the backdrop for a character-driven saga about the nature of success. And like several of those aforementioned stories of riches gained and/or lost, “The Beanie Bubble” ultimately says more about the state of the film business than it does any other. It says that we used to tell stories about people, but now we’d rather tell stories about products — even...
Like “Air,” “Barbie,” “Blackberry,” and “Tetris” before it (remember when they made a movie about the thrilling race to patent “Tetris?”), this Apple TV+ original uses a footnote in the recent history of North American capitalism as the backdrop for a character-driven saga about the nature of success. And like several of those aforementioned stories of riches gained and/or lost, “The Beanie Bubble” ultimately says more about the state of the film business than it does any other. It says that we used to tell stories about people, but now we’d rather tell stories about products — even...
- 7/20/2023
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
The true story behind the once popular children’s playthings is taken on here by a decent cast who can’t stop proceedings unravelling
Some deeply muddled non-storytelling and tonal blandness pretty much sink this movie from the outset, despite its decent cast and origins in a potentially fascinating true story. It might have been served better as a documentary, and right from the off, this feature film deploys the deeply annoying and all-too familiar get-out clause of pre-emptively giggling that it is kind of false and sort of not, flashing up the statement after the opening credits: “There are parts of the truth you can’t make up. The rest we did.”
It is adapted by Kristin Gore from Zac Bissonnette’s nonfiction study The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute, and directed by Gore and Damian Kulash; it tackles the little-known human...
Some deeply muddled non-storytelling and tonal blandness pretty much sink this movie from the outset, despite its decent cast and origins in a potentially fascinating true story. It might have been served better as a documentary, and right from the off, this feature film deploys the deeply annoying and all-too familiar get-out clause of pre-emptively giggling that it is kind of false and sort of not, flashing up the statement after the opening credits: “There are parts of the truth you can’t make up. The rest we did.”
It is adapted by Kristin Gore from Zac Bissonnette’s nonfiction study The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute, and directed by Gore and Damian Kulash; it tackles the little-known human...
- 7/20/2023
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Producers: Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Karen Lunder
Executive Producers: Zach Galifianakis, Douglas S. Jones
Directors: Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash, Jr.
Writer: Kristin Gore.
Director of Photography: Steven Meizler
Production Designer: Molly Hughes
Costume Designer: Reńee Ehrlich Kalfus
Editor: Jane Rizzo
Composers: Nathan Barr
Cast: Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook, Geraldine Viswanathan, Tracey Bonner, Carl Clemons-Hopkins
An AppleTV+ release, The Beanie Bubble examines a phenomenon of a certain era when the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold. Ty Warner was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history.…...
Executive Producers: Zach Galifianakis, Douglas S. Jones
Directors: Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash, Jr.
Writer: Kristin Gore.
Director of Photography: Steven Meizler
Production Designer: Molly Hughes
Costume Designer: Reńee Ehrlich Kalfus
Editor: Jane Rizzo
Composers: Nathan Barr
Cast: Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook, Geraldine Viswanathan, Tracey Bonner, Carl Clemons-Hopkins
An AppleTV+ release, The Beanie Bubble examines a phenomenon of a certain era when the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold. Ty Warner was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history.…...
- 7/20/2023
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Dig deep enough through the eBay auction site, and you can still find Beanie Babies listed for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Nobody’s buying them at that price, but it’s a reminder that there was a moment in the not-so-distant past when the cheaply made stuffed animals fetched outrageous sums. The phenomenon, while it lasted, was fueled largely by the illusion of scarcity, as collectors chased what they believed to be limited numbers of the highly coveted critters.
Were they really so rare? “The Beanie Bubble” doesn’t have any particularly interesting insights into the craze, focusing instead on their inventor, disgraced self-made toy mogul Ty Warner, portrayed by Zach Galifianakis in one of the discomfort comedian’s most skin-crawling performances to date. Tonally, the movie walks a tricky line between easy-target satire and female-empowering corporate case study, falling into the overcrowded junk-culture nostalgia-porn category so recently represented by “Tetris,...
Were they really so rare? “The Beanie Bubble” doesn’t have any particularly interesting insights into the craze, focusing instead on their inventor, disgraced self-made toy mogul Ty Warner, portrayed by Zach Galifianakis in one of the discomfort comedian’s most skin-crawling performances to date. Tonally, the movie walks a tricky line between easy-target satire and female-empowering corporate case study, falling into the overcrowded junk-culture nostalgia-porn category so recently represented by “Tetris,...
- 7/20/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
It is probably no accident that Apple has chosen this week to launch its own legendary toy biopic, The Beanie Bubble, in the shadow of Warner Bros’ about-to-be blockbuster Barbie. It can only benefit from the obvious connections and themes of female empowerment bubbling under the surface of both.
The latest in a Hollywood trend of 2023 movie releases focusing on origin stories of products, it proves there is fertile creative ground in these movies as each of them so far has much to recommend. This one, a feature directorial debut for the husband-and-wife team of Damian Kulash Jr and Kristin Gore (the latter also writing the screenplay), is a razor-sharp look at the Beanie Baby phenomenon of the 1990s, but one more interested in the relationships of the people behind it as much as the rise and fall of the lovable plush toys themselves.
The latest in a Hollywood trend of 2023 movie releases focusing on origin stories of products, it proves there is fertile creative ground in these movies as each of them so far has much to recommend. This one, a feature directorial debut for the husband-and-wife team of Damian Kulash Jr and Kristin Gore (the latter also writing the screenplay), is a razor-sharp look at the Beanie Baby phenomenon of the 1990s, but one more interested in the relationships of the people behind it as much as the rise and fall of the lovable plush toys themselves.
- 7/20/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Plot: Why did the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold? Ty Warner was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history. “The Beanie Bubble” is an inventive story about what and who we value, and the unsung heroes whose names didn’t appear on the heart-shaped tag.
Review: Everyone likely knows what a Beanie Baby is. The tiny plush toys were an insane fad in the 1990s, predating Crypto and NFTs by decades. But, unlike many fads, Beanie Babies became a lucrative financial market during the early days of the World Wide Web and marketplaces like eBay. While the crash reduced toys valued at thousands of dollars to just pennies, the toy’s creator, Ty Warner, remained a multi-millionaire. Despite a felony tax conviction, Warner remains extremely wealthy thanks to his revolutionized plush idea.
Review: Everyone likely knows what a Beanie Baby is. The tiny plush toys were an insane fad in the 1990s, predating Crypto and NFTs by decades. But, unlike many fads, Beanie Babies became a lucrative financial market during the early days of the World Wide Web and marketplaces like eBay. While the crash reduced toys valued at thousands of dollars to just pennies, the toy’s creator, Ty Warner, remained a multi-millionaire. Despite a felony tax conviction, Warner remains extremely wealthy thanks to his revolutionized plush idea.
- 7/20/2023
- by Alex Maidy
- JoBlo.com
[Editor’s note: The following interview was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike began on July 14, 2023.]
Geraldine Viswanathan seems like the kind of gal you can kick off a conversation with — a professional one, to boot — by way of owl-based non sequitur. Indeed, you can, as the perpetually rising (and that’s Ok!) it girl and constant “breakout star” (she’s been here!) is about as easy and fun an interview subject as anyone would desire to have.
Where you know Viswanathan from depends on your taste in entertainment: the Emmy-nominated Aussie has been working since the age of 4 (when she booked her first commercial) and has appeared in a range of roles ever since, from the raunchy (and smart) teen 2018 comedy “Blockers” to the TBS anthology comedy series “Miracle Workers.” She’s done plenty of indies and had a recurring role on the animated comedy gem “BoJack Horseman.”
And yet, every time Viswanathan pops up in a new project, people seem to be reminded all...
Geraldine Viswanathan seems like the kind of gal you can kick off a conversation with — a professional one, to boot — by way of owl-based non sequitur. Indeed, you can, as the perpetually rising (and that’s Ok!) it girl and constant “breakout star” (she’s been here!) is about as easy and fun an interview subject as anyone would desire to have.
Where you know Viswanathan from depends on your taste in entertainment: the Emmy-nominated Aussie has been working since the age of 4 (when she booked her first commercial) and has appeared in a range of roles ever since, from the raunchy (and smart) teen 2018 comedy “Blockers” to the TBS anthology comedy series “Miracle Workers.” She’s done plenty of indies and had a recurring role on the animated comedy gem “BoJack Horseman.”
And yet, every time Viswanathan pops up in a new project, people seem to be reminded all...
- 7/19/2023
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Beneath the fluffy exterior of a new film about the 90s soft toy craze lies a tale of corruption, collective madness and toxic narcissism. Its unlikely directors discuss bosses, brands – and how to negotiate with five-year-olds
When Damian Kulash and Kristin Gore were growing up – back when they were friends in high school, two decades before they reunited, got married and had twins – there was, he says, “this basic feeling that the world was really screwed up in the past but would get much better in the future, and we were somewhere on that curve: lots of things weren’t yet fixed, but we were inexorably going towards somewhere fairer.”
Next to him, Gore nods. Sunny optimism was, she says, “a very 90s thing”.
When Damian Kulash and Kristin Gore were growing up – back when they were friends in high school, two decades before they reunited, got married and had twins – there was, he says, “this basic feeling that the world was really screwed up in the past but would get much better in the future, and we were somewhere on that curve: lots of things weren’t yet fixed, but we were inexorably going towards somewhere fairer.”
Next to him, Gore nods. Sunny optimism was, she says, “a very 90s thing”.
- 7/14/2023
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
Like a ’90s toy store packed with tiny beanbag dogs, this fact-based dramedy about one of pop culture’s cuddliest crazes boasts some seriously hot commodities. “We are so psyched we got this cast,” says Kristin Gore, who codirected The Beanie Bubble with husband Damian Kulash, of the A-list ensemble led by Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect), Sarah Snook (Succession), and Geraldine Viswanathan (Miracle Workers). Apple TV+ Each of the immensely gifted actresses portrays a woman who played a key role in helping eccentric entrepreneur Ty Warner (a wonderfully odd Zach Galifianakis) develop the company behind — and frenzy for — Beanie Babies during the internet’s infancy. Using Zac Bissonnette’s book The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute as their source material, the duo set about to honor the unsung Beanie team. So aside from Ty himself, “the characters are fictional,” says Kulash. “Renderings that...
- 6/27/2023
- TV Insider
The Beanie Baby craze of the ’90s was something to behold. Millions of people collected as many of the colourful plush bears as they could get their hands on, with some even convinced that they would become lucrative investments. As most of us know someone with a box (or several) of Beanie Babies taking up space in their garage, that investment didn’t exactly pay off. Apple Original Films have dropped the first trailer for The Beanie Bubble, which chronicles the rise of stuffed toys.
The Beanie Bubble stars a beardless Zach Galifianakis (which is still so weird to me) as Ty Warner, the toy manufacturer who would become a billionaire thanks to the Beanie Baby craze in the late 1990s. The Beanie Bubble also stars Elizabeth Banks (Cocaine Bear) as Robbie, Ty’s business partner, Sarah Snook (Succession) as Warner’s wife Sheila, and Geraldine Viswanathan (Miracle Workers) as Ty Inc.
The Beanie Bubble stars a beardless Zach Galifianakis (which is still so weird to me) as Ty Warner, the toy manufacturer who would become a billionaire thanks to the Beanie Baby craze in the late 1990s. The Beanie Bubble also stars Elizabeth Banks (Cocaine Bear) as Robbie, Ty’s business partner, Sarah Snook (Succession) as Warner’s wife Sheila, and Geraldine Viswanathan (Miracle Workers) as Ty Inc.
- 6/23/2023
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Apple TV+ is bringing the unbelievable tale of one of America’s most fascinating phenomena to life — Beanie Babies.
In the trailer for the highly anticipated feature, “The Beanie Bubble” — released today — Zach Galifianakis stars as the American businessman behind the line of stuffed toys, Ty Warner, who founded Ty Inc. in 1986.
The Apple Original Film — centred on how the ’90s and early 2000s era-defining stuffed animals came to be — also stars Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook and Geraldine Viswanathan.
Read More: Zach Galifianakis Says His Kids Haven’t Seen ‘The Hangover,’ Think He’s a Librarian
The official synopsis reads: “Why did the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold? Ty Warner was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history. ‘The Beanie Bubble’ is an inventive story about what and who we value, and...
In the trailer for the highly anticipated feature, “The Beanie Bubble” — released today — Zach Galifianakis stars as the American businessman behind the line of stuffed toys, Ty Warner, who founded Ty Inc. in 1986.
The Apple Original Film — centred on how the ’90s and early 2000s era-defining stuffed animals came to be — also stars Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook and Geraldine Viswanathan.
Read More: Zach Galifianakis Says His Kids Haven’t Seen ‘The Hangover,’ Think He’s a Librarian
The official synopsis reads: “Why did the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold? Ty Warner was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history. ‘The Beanie Bubble’ is an inventive story about what and who we value, and...
- 6/22/2023
- by Melissa Romualdi
- ET Canada
Apple Original Films’ The Beanie Bubble explores the true story behind the toy craze that took over the world in the late 1990s. The trailer introduces the key players, including Ty Warner – the man who took credit for creating the cute little stuffed animals.
Zach Galifianakis (Baskets) stars as Ty Warner. The cast also includes Elizabeth Banks (Cocaine Bear), Sarah Snook (Succession), and Geraldine Viswanathan (Broken Hearts Gallery).
Per Apple Original Films: “Why did the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold? Ty Warner was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history. The Beanie Bubble is an inventive story about what and who we value, and the unsung heroes whose names didn’t appear on the heart-shaped tag.”
Married duo Emmy Award nominee Kristin Gore and Grammy Award-winning lead singer of Ok Go...
Zach Galifianakis (Baskets) stars as Ty Warner. The cast also includes Elizabeth Banks (Cocaine Bear), Sarah Snook (Succession), and Geraldine Viswanathan (Broken Hearts Gallery).
Per Apple Original Films: “Why did the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold? Ty Warner was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history. The Beanie Bubble is an inventive story about what and who we value, and the unsung heroes whose names didn’t appear on the heart-shaped tag.”
Married duo Emmy Award nominee Kristin Gore and Grammy Award-winning lead singer of Ok Go...
- 6/22/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Root around in the back of a wardrobe, or maybe up in the attic somewhere, and chances are you’ll find a Beanie Baby. In the late ‘90s and early ‘00s they were everywhere – adorable plushes partially filled with little plastic beans, available in all kinds of animal shapes. They were a huge deal, much-hyped for their collectability, and the widely-held notion that they would likely end up being hugely valuable if kept in peak condition. There was even a Princess Diana tribute bear back in the day. That feverish collectibility (and behind-the-scenes backstabbing) is at the heart of upcoming Apple TV+ movie The Beanie Bubble – starring Elizabeth Banks and Zach Galifianakis as the minds behind the mayhem.
As well as a stellar cast – Blockers and Broken Hearts Gallery standout Geraldine Viswanathan and Succession’s Sarah Snook are also in the mix – there’s some real visual flair here. How...
As well as a stellar cast – Blockers and Broken Hearts Gallery standout Geraldine Viswanathan and Succession’s Sarah Snook are also in the mix – there’s some real visual flair here. How...
- 6/22/2023
- by Ben Travis
- Empire - Movies
In the tradition of “Air,” “Tetris,” and “Blackberry” comes another flashy fact-based drama that owes more than a little of its joie de vivre to “The Social Network.” On Thursday, Apple released the first trailer for “The Beanie Bubble,” the rags-to-riches story of the first viral sensation, Ty’s Beanie Babies.
“Why did the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold? Ty Warner was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history,” reads the film’s synopsis. “‘The Beanie Bubble’ is an inventive story about what and who we value, and the unsung heroes whose names didn’t appear on the heart-shaped tag.”
The project comes from Kristin Gore, an associate producer of “Foxcatcher” and former Vice President Al Gore’s daughter, and Damian Kulash, Jr., the lead singer of Ok Go and Kristin Gore’s husband.
“Why did the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold? Ty Warner was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history,” reads the film’s synopsis. “‘The Beanie Bubble’ is an inventive story about what and who we value, and the unsung heroes whose names didn’t appear on the heart-shaped tag.”
The project comes from Kristin Gore, an associate producer of “Foxcatcher” and former Vice President Al Gore’s daughter, and Damian Kulash, Jr., the lead singer of Ok Go and Kristin Gore’s husband.
- 6/22/2023
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
The Beanie Baby empire is stuffed until it pops in the first official trailer for The Beanie Bubble, premiering on Apple TV+ on July 28. The film isn’t some twisted live-action imagining of the stuffed plushies that ruled the mid- to late-nineties, especially on the internet — it’s an over-the-top, dramatized portrait of the salesman Ty Warner (Zach Galifianakis) who launched the toy craze and the three women he betrayed to making himself a billionaire.
“You have the power to create your own future,” Warner amps up in the trailer.
“You have the power to create your own future,” Warner amps up in the trailer.
- 6/22/2023
- by Larisha Paul
- Rollingstone.com
Remember when Beanie Babies broke the Internet? Well, the iconic toy is now landing its own biopic for audiences to see what it truly takes to build a plush stuffed animal from scratch.
Apple’s “The Beanie Bubble” charts the rise and fall of the ingenious collectible stuffed animals, with Elizabeth Banks and Zach Galifianakis playing the real-life toy titans who invented the craze. In a twist of nostalgic toy-driven fate, “The Beanie Bubble” opens in select theaters the same weekend as “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.”
Per the official synopsis, why did the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold? Ty Warner (Galifianakis) was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history.
“Succession” star Sarah Snook portrays Warner’s wife (and one third of the love triangle alongside Banks) while “Blockers” breakout Geraldine Viswanathan is a...
Apple’s “The Beanie Bubble” charts the rise and fall of the ingenious collectible stuffed animals, with Elizabeth Banks and Zach Galifianakis playing the real-life toy titans who invented the craze. In a twist of nostalgic toy-driven fate, “The Beanie Bubble” opens in select theaters the same weekend as “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.”
Per the official synopsis, why did the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold? Ty Warner (Galifianakis) was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history.
“Succession” star Sarah Snook portrays Warner’s wife (and one third of the love triangle alongside Banks) while “Blockers” breakout Geraldine Viswanathan is a...
- 6/22/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Apple Original Films on Tuesday unveiled the theatrical and streaming release dates, as well as first-look photos for its true-life dramedy The Beanie Bubble, starring Zach Galifianakis (Baskets), Elizabeth Banks (Call Jane), Sarah Snook (Succession) and Geraldine Viswanathan (Cat Person). The film marking the feature directorial debut of Emmy nominee Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash, Jr. will premiere in select theaters on July 21st before bowing globally on Apple TV+ on July 28th.
Based on a script by Gore, The Beanie Bubble asks the following question: Why, in the 1990s, did the world suddenly start treating the stuffed animals known as Beanie Babies like gold? Ty Warner (Galifianakis) was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history. Pic is described as a story about what and who we value, and the unsung heroes whose names...
Based on a script by Gore, The Beanie Bubble asks the following question: Why, in the 1990s, did the world suddenly start treating the stuffed animals known as Beanie Babies like gold? Ty Warner (Galifianakis) was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history. Pic is described as a story about what and who we value, and the unsung heroes whose names...
- 5/16/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
THR has reported that Zach Galifianakis has closed a deal to star in Disney’s upcoming live-action Lilo and Stitch movie.
The original Lilo & Stitch film told the story of a young Hawaiian girl named Lilo and an extraterrestrial dog-like creature known as Experiment 626, but he’s soon given the name Stitch after being adopted by Lilo. Although Stitch is a force of chaos and destruction, he eventually develops a close bond with Lilo, and together, the pair avoid the pursuing aliens who have been dispatched to capture him. The film spawned several direct-to-video sequels and a couple of TV shows. Exactly who Zach Galifianakis will play in the Lilo and Stitch movie is being kept under wraps at the moment, but Disney is still searching for actors to play Lilo and her older sister. As expected, the character of Stitch will be a CG creation.
Related The Bob’s Burgers...
The original Lilo & Stitch film told the story of a young Hawaiian girl named Lilo and an extraterrestrial dog-like creature known as Experiment 626, but he’s soon given the name Stitch after being adopted by Lilo. Although Stitch is a force of chaos and destruction, he eventually develops a close bond with Lilo, and together, the pair avoid the pursuing aliens who have been dispatched to capture him. The film spawned several direct-to-video sequels and a couple of TV shows. Exactly who Zach Galifianakis will play in the Lilo and Stitch movie is being kept under wraps at the moment, but Disney is still searching for actors to play Lilo and her older sister. As expected, the character of Stitch will be a CG creation.
Related The Bob’s Burgers...
- 2/17/2023
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover franchise) has signed on to star in the live-action Lilo & Stitch film from Marcell the Shell With Shoes On filmmaker Dean Fleischer Camp, Deadline can confirm.
Details as to his role in the Disney+ pic are under wraps. But the original 2002 animated film examined the relationship between a lonely girl named Lilo and the alien, Stitch, engineered to be a force of destruction.
Chris Kekaniokalani Bright scripted the new film, from a previous draft by Mike Van Waes. Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich will produce for Rideback, with Ryan Halprin exec producing for the company.
Galifianakis is an Emmy-winning actor and comedian best known for roles in The Hangover franchise and FX’s acclaimed comedy series Baskets, as well as his short-form Funny or Die talk show, Between Two Ferns. He’s also previously appeared in films like A Wrinkle in Time, Birdman, The Campaign and Due Date,...
Details as to his role in the Disney+ pic are under wraps. But the original 2002 animated film examined the relationship between a lonely girl named Lilo and the alien, Stitch, engineered to be a force of destruction.
Chris Kekaniokalani Bright scripted the new film, from a previous draft by Mike Van Waes. Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich will produce for Rideback, with Ryan Halprin exec producing for the company.
Galifianakis is an Emmy-winning actor and comedian best known for roles in The Hangover franchise and FX’s acclaimed comedy series Baskets, as well as his short-form Funny or Die talk show, Between Two Ferns. He’s also previously appeared in films like A Wrinkle in Time, Birdman, The Campaign and Due Date,...
- 2/17/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Matt Groening has never been shy about making fun of even the most powerful political figures. The classic "The Simpsons" episode "Two Bad Neighbors" is a parody of former President George H.W. Bush, and not an affectionate one. When Bush moves across the street from the Simpsons, the uptight stick-in-the-mud suffers indignity at Bart's hands, in the vein of Mr. Wilson and Dennis the Menace.
In "Futurama," Richard Nixon himself is a recurring character. Thanks to technology that preserves the heads of historical figures, Nixon lives and, since the episode "A Head In The Polls," has reigned as president of Earth.
For most of these parodies, the real subject wasn't the one acting as themselves. Harry Shearer voiced Bush in "Two Bad Neighbors," while Billy West does a pitch-perfect Nixon impression on "Futurama." There is one major exception though. Former Vice President Al Gore has appeared on "Futurama" a handful of times,...
In "Futurama," Richard Nixon himself is a recurring character. Thanks to technology that preserves the heads of historical figures, Nixon lives and, since the episode "A Head In The Polls," has reigned as president of Earth.
For most of these parodies, the real subject wasn't the one acting as themselves. Harry Shearer voiced Bush in "Two Bad Neighbors," while Billy West does a pitch-perfect Nixon impression on "Futurama." There is one major exception though. Former Vice President Al Gore has appeared on "Futurama" a handful of times,...
- 9/15/2022
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Apple Original Films has landed rights to the package The Beanie Bubble, a new film hailing from Imagine Entertainment that will be co-directed by Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash and star Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook and Geraldine Viswanathan.
The film is inspired by the story behind one of the biggest speculative crazes that blazed through American culture in the 1990s. It pulls back the curtain on the absurdities and injustices of the American Dream — particularly the female relationship to it. It’s a celebration of the women who helped power Ty Warner’s success, whose strengths and good instincts shaped and amplified the phenomenon, but whose names are not on the Beanie Babies’ heart-shaped tags.
Produced by Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Imagine Features president Karen Lunder, the pic marks the first film order to hail from an exclusive, first-look deal between Apple and Imagine Entertainment for scripted films.
The film is inspired by the story behind one of the biggest speculative crazes that blazed through American culture in the 1990s. It pulls back the curtain on the absurdities and injustices of the American Dream — particularly the female relationship to it. It’s a celebration of the women who helped power Ty Warner’s success, whose strengths and good instincts shaped and amplified the phenomenon, but whose names are not on the Beanie Babies’ heart-shaped tags.
Produced by Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Imagine Features president Karen Lunder, the pic marks the first film order to hail from an exclusive, first-look deal between Apple and Imagine Entertainment for scripted films.
- 1/11/2022
- by Justin Kroll
- Deadline Film + TV
Marvel Studios’ Founding Chairman David Maisel is going to attempt to build two more cinematic universes. A year ago he teamed up with music industry executive Scooter Braun to launch Mythos Studios, and they purchased a controlling stake in Aspen Comics, which is the publisher founded by comic artist Michael Turner.
They plan on taking Turner’s original intellectual properties and building an animated cinematic universe out of them. They are calling that universe the TurnerVerse. These will be big event-sized animated films that tell an ongoing story over the course of multiple films.
The first two projects being produced in the TurnerVerse are Fathom and Soulfire. The two films are being developed by Kevin Adams and Joe Ksander, the directors of Netflix’s Next Gen. The screenplay for Fathom is being written by Kristin Gore (Saturday Night Live and Futurama), the daughter of Vice President Al Gore. The story centers around Aspen Matthews,...
They plan on taking Turner’s original intellectual properties and building an animated cinematic universe out of them. They are calling that universe the TurnerVerse. These will be big event-sized animated films that tell an ongoing story over the course of multiple films.
The first two projects being produced in the TurnerVerse are Fathom and Soulfire. The two films are being developed by Kevin Adams and Joe Ksander, the directors of Netflix’s Next Gen. The screenplay for Fathom is being written by Kristin Gore (Saturday Night Live and Futurama), the daughter of Vice President Al Gore. The story centers around Aspen Matthews,...
- 10/29/2019
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Mythos Studios, the big-ambition animation studio established last year by Marvel Studios Founding Chairman David Maisel and Sb Projects founder Scooter Braun, announced the creative teams leading the company’s first three feature films: Cupid, starring pop superstar Justin Bieber; Fathom, an undersea superhero epic; and Soulfire, the saga of an orphaned boy who is heir to ancient magic.
Work has actually been underway on all three films at the Los Angeles production offices of Mythos since February. No target release dates or production timetables have been announced. The creative teams, listed by project:
Cupid: Music video veteran Pete Candeland will direct the animated musical about the famed god of desire from classical mythology and stars the previously announced Bieber as the voice of the headstrong winged archer whose parents are Venus the goddess of love, and Mars, the war deity. Candeland’s credits include the memorably stylized and persona-shaping...
Work has actually been underway on all three films at the Los Angeles production offices of Mythos since February. No target release dates or production timetables have been announced. The creative teams, listed by project:
Cupid: Music video veteran Pete Candeland will direct the animated musical about the famed god of desire from classical mythology and stars the previously announced Bieber as the voice of the headstrong winged archer whose parents are Venus the goddess of love, and Mars, the war deity. Candeland’s credits include the memorably stylized and persona-shaping...
- 10/24/2019
- by Geoff Boucher
- Deadline Film + TV
Mythos Studios, the year-old content venture from Marvel Studios founding chairman David Maisel and manager-mogul Scooter Braun, announced Thursday the group of creatives who are overseeing three films in pre-production.
Foremost is “Cupid,” the first film in a planned universe based on Greek and Roman mythology. The titular matchmaker, to be voiced by Justin Bieber, will be directed by celebrated music video helmer and commercial animator Pete Candeland (of the beloved Gorillaz videos).
The narrative tells of Cupid and his love interest Psyche, developed for the screen by Carlos Kotkin (“Rio 2”) from a story adaptation by Maisel. Psyche, still uncast, is human royalty whose beauty intimidates Cupid’s mom Aphrodite.
The late Michael Turner, a comic creator and artist who worked with DC and Marvel, is most noted for his earliest and solo creations. Two of those, “Fathom” and “Soulfire,” are in productions as complimenting features that will move...
Foremost is “Cupid,” the first film in a planned universe based on Greek and Roman mythology. The titular matchmaker, to be voiced by Justin Bieber, will be directed by celebrated music video helmer and commercial animator Pete Candeland (of the beloved Gorillaz videos).
The narrative tells of Cupid and his love interest Psyche, developed for the screen by Carlos Kotkin (“Rio 2”) from a story adaptation by Maisel. Psyche, still uncast, is human royalty whose beauty intimidates Cupid’s mom Aphrodite.
The late Michael Turner, a comic creator and artist who worked with DC and Marvel, is most noted for his earliest and solo creations. Two of those, “Fathom” and “Soulfire,” are in productions as complimenting features that will move...
- 10/24/2019
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
According to a new rumor, Disney is developing a new live-action Snow White spinoff film called Rose Red and they are looking to cast Captain Marvel star Brie Larson in the lead role. It seems like another role that she would be perfect for.
The story is a revisionist take that transposes Rose Red into the Snow White tale, making her a key player in the later moments of the classic story. When Snow White takes a bite from the iconic poison apple and falls into her Sleeping Death, her estranged sister, Rose Red, must undertake a dangerous quest with Grumpy and the other dwarfs to find a way to break the curse and bring Snow White back to life.
This is definitely an interesting and fresh cinematic approach to taking on the classic fairytale. There's no director attached to the project yet, but apparently, the studio is currently on the hunt for one.
The story is a revisionist take that transposes Rose Red into the Snow White tale, making her a key player in the later moments of the classic story. When Snow White takes a bite from the iconic poison apple and falls into her Sleeping Death, her estranged sister, Rose Red, must undertake a dangerous quest with Grumpy and the other dwarfs to find a way to break the curse and bring Snow White back to life.
This is definitely an interesting and fresh cinematic approach to taking on the classic fairytale. There's no director attached to the project yet, but apparently, the studio is currently on the hunt for one.
- 4/24/2018
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Simon Brew Jun 30, 2017
Jon Ronson talks to us about writing Okja, writing films, his upcoming projects and Jason Statham...
This is the second time that Den Of Geek has had the pleasure of interviewing author, screenwriter and broadcaster Jon Ronson. The occasion this time was the release of the film Okja, that he’s co-written. The first time? Well, that seemed like a good place to start this interview…
I did always wonder how I’d start a conversation with you, given that the last time you and our website crossed, it nearly brought down Den Of Geek altogether…!
You know what, I’ve got a memory of this. But my memory’s so shit, you’re going to have to remind me!
You touched on it in the early passages of The Psychopath Test. We interviewed you ahead of the release of the film The Men Who Stare At Goats,...
Jon Ronson talks to us about writing Okja, writing films, his upcoming projects and Jason Statham...
This is the second time that Den Of Geek has had the pleasure of interviewing author, screenwriter and broadcaster Jon Ronson. The occasion this time was the release of the film Okja, that he’s co-written. The first time? Well, that seemed like a good place to start this interview…
I did always wonder how I’d start a conversation with you, given that the last time you and our website crossed, it nearly brought down Den Of Geek altogether…!
You know what, I’ve got a memory of this. But my memory’s so shit, you’re going to have to remind me!
You touched on it in the early passages of The Psychopath Test. We interviewed you ahead of the release of the film The Men Who Stare At Goats,...
- 6/27/2017
- Den of Geek
This Washington farce about an uninsured waitress seeking redress for a workplace injury is never less than annoying
“I have a nail in my head so I need a Moon Base.” In the days before The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, David O Russell started shooting the healthcare satire Nailed (from Kristin Gore’s novel Sammy’s Hill), only to see the production shut down amid financial chaos. Now, seven years later, we have the retitled Accidental Love, completed (without Russell’s further input) under the pseudonymous director credit “Stephen Greene”.
Unsurprisingly, it’s a mess. Fleeting fragments hint at a superior work while others suggest it was a misfire from the outset. Jessica Biel is rollerskating Indiana waitress Alice who goes to Washington seeking help from congressman Howard Birdwell (Jake Gyllenhaal) following a medically uninsured accident. With a nail lodged in her skull causing mood swings and inhibition loss,...
“I have a nail in my head so I need a Moon Base.” In the days before The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, David O Russell started shooting the healthcare satire Nailed (from Kristin Gore’s novel Sammy’s Hill), only to see the production shut down amid financial chaos. Now, seven years later, we have the retitled Accidental Love, completed (without Russell’s further input) under the pseudonymous director credit “Stephen Greene”.
Unsurprisingly, it’s a mess. Fleeting fragments hint at a superior work while others suggest it was a misfire from the outset. Jessica Biel is rollerskating Indiana waitress Alice who goes to Washington seeking help from congressman Howard Birdwell (Jake Gyllenhaal) following a medically uninsured accident. With a nail lodged in her skull causing mood swings and inhibition loss,...
- 6/21/2015
- by Mark Kermode, Observer film critic
- The Guardian - Film News
Director: Stephen Greene; Screenwriters: Kristin Gore, Matthew Silverstein, Dave Jeser; Starring: Jessica Biel, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bill Hader, Tracy Morgan; Running time: 100 mins; Certificate: 15
Be careful what you wish for. Abandoned due to financial reasons before production could be completed in 2010, Academy Award-winning director David O. Russell's Nailed has finally emerged in the form of Accidental Love. It's so irredeemably bad that even Alan Smithee wouldn't touch it. The directorial pseudonym of choice here is Stephen Greene, and the movie was completed without O'Russell's involvement or blessing.
The premise is an intriguing one and the cast is impressive, hence the understandable clamour for this abomination to be seen. It involves Jessica Biel's rollerskating waitress Alice receiving a nail to a head in a freak accident, causing her to have an increased sex drive that sways her hips away from her loser lover and thrusts her into the path of Jake Gyllenhaal's creepy Congressman.
Be careful what you wish for. Abandoned due to financial reasons before production could be completed in 2010, Academy Award-winning director David O. Russell's Nailed has finally emerged in the form of Accidental Love. It's so irredeemably bad that even Alan Smithee wouldn't touch it. The directorial pseudonym of choice here is Stephen Greene, and the movie was completed without O'Russell's involvement or blessing.
The premise is an intriguing one and the cast is impressive, hence the understandable clamour for this abomination to be seen. It involves Jessica Biel's rollerskating waitress Alice receiving a nail to a head in a freak accident, causing her to have an increased sex drive that sways her hips away from her loser lover and thrusts her into the path of Jake Gyllenhaal's creepy Congressman.
- 6/19/2015
- Digital Spy
Shot way back in 2008, caught up in the wrangling and law cases involving troubled film financier David Bergstein, shut down several times during production and disowned by its own director, Accidental Love (aka Nailed), finally limps into British cinemas. We can still see traces of what David O Russell and his screenwriter Kristin Gore (daughter of former Vice President Al) were trying to achieve. The aim was for a Frank Capra-style screwball comedy that made some trenchant points about Washington politics and Us heathcare provision.
- 6/18/2015
- The Independent - Film
The salvaged footage of David O Russell’s adaptation of Kristin Gore’s novel about an idealistic aide working on healthcare reform is a real mess
Kristin Gore, daughter of Al, published a novel in 2004 entitled Sammy’s Hill: a Washington DC comedy about an idealistic young political aide working on healthcare reform. Four years later, work began on an independent movie entitled Nailed, freely adapted from the book, with Gore herself co-writing the script and David O Russell directing: a bizarre Obamacare parable with a huge high concept.
Continue reading...
Kristin Gore, daughter of Al, published a novel in 2004 entitled Sammy’s Hill: a Washington DC comedy about an idealistic young political aide working on healthcare reform. Four years later, work began on an independent movie entitled Nailed, freely adapted from the book, with Gore herself co-writing the script and David O Russell directing: a bizarre Obamacare parable with a huge high concept.
Continue reading...
- 6/18/2015
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
New Projects is a weekly round up of movies and TV shows recently announced and currently in development for the near future.
Who’s that bad remake? (Shut your mouth!) New Line Cinema has reportedly acquired the rights to the Shaft franchise and intends to remake the ’70s blaxploitation classic yet again, following the 2000 remake starring Samuel L. Jackson. The Wrap reports that John Davis (Predator) is producing the remake, apparently forgetting that no one understands Shaft but his woman.
Perhaps someone at Bad Robot had a lightbulb (get it?) go if in their head, as The Wrap has reported that J.J. Abrams’s production studio is developing a movie on Thomas Edison as a “rugged, eccentric genius”. Abrams is currently working on a series for Hulu based on one of Stephen King’s novels around the Kennedy Assassination.
If you thought a Monopoly movie was ridiculous, it doesn’t...
Who’s that bad remake? (Shut your mouth!) New Line Cinema has reportedly acquired the rights to the Shaft franchise and intends to remake the ’70s blaxploitation classic yet again, following the 2000 remake starring Samuel L. Jackson. The Wrap reports that John Davis (Predator) is producing the remake, apparently forgetting that no one understands Shaft but his woman.
Perhaps someone at Bad Robot had a lightbulb (get it?) go if in their head, as The Wrap has reported that J.J. Abrams’s production studio is developing a movie on Thomas Edison as a “rugged, eccentric genius”. Abrams is currently working on a series for Hulu based on one of Stephen King’s novels around the Kennedy Assassination.
If you thought a Monopoly movie was ridiculous, it doesn’t...
- 2/19/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
Scarlett Johansson Takes 'The Psychopath Test,' Ewan McGregor To Direct 'American Pastoral' And More
Scarlett Johansson is studying up to take "The Psychopath Test," Deadline reports. The actress will lead the Jay Roach ("Game Change," "Meet The Fockers") directed movie, based on Jon Ronson's book about "how the medical community tries to diagnose and classify an elusive group: remorseless, deadly psychopaths." Kristin Gore (David O. Russell's aborted "Nailed" aka "Accidental Love") penned the script for the psychological thriller, which is set up at Universal. Deadline also reports that Jerry Lewis is joining the Nicolas Cage movie "The Trust," playing the latter's father. Whoa. Elijah Wood and Sky Ferreira co-star in the movie about "two corrupt cops who are stuck working the evidence room of the Las Vegas police department. When one discovers there is a vault full of drug money sealed in the back of a convenience store, both cops team up to pull a heist. Lewis will play the father of.
- 2/18/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
The Psychopath Test, Inferno, X-Men: Apocalypse, and other movies have made recent film casting, screenwriting, and director news. These films come from movie studios primarily based in the United States. The castings, screenwriters, and directors are subject to change. The Psychopath Test Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment have set screenwriter Kristin Gore [...]
Continue reading: Film Casting: Psychopath Test, Inferno, Kodi Smit-McPhee in X-men: Apocalypse...
Continue reading: Film Casting: Psychopath Test, Inferno, Kodi Smit-McPhee in X-men: Apocalypse...
- 2/18/2015
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
Even though Scarlett Johansson just had her first child not too long ago, she's wasting no time lining up a series of future project. The actress will be back as Black Widow in Captain America: Civil War, and she's taking the lead in the big screen adaptation of the anime Ghost in the Shell. Now Deadline reports Universal Pictures has attached the actress to lead The Psychopath Test, a psychological thriller from writer Kristin Gore, based on Jon Ronson's book of the same name. Game Change and Meet the Parents director Jay Roach is attached to direct with Brian Grazer producing through his own Everyman Pictures banner. Roach and Gore and just coming off a comedy pilot for HBO called "Women in Space," following a group of women tasked with the mission of colonizing another planet. As for Ronson, you should be familiar with his work since he wrote...
- 2/18/2015
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Scarlett Johansson's latest project sounds a little spooky. She's signed on to star in an adaptation of Jon Ronson's book "The Psychopath Test," a non-fiction book about psychopaths and "the madness industry." It's not exactly clear how the book will be adapted into a narrative, or where Johansson will fit in, but it's being described as "a psychological thriller." Here's the Amazon description of the book:
When Jon Ronson is drawn into an elaborate hoax played on some of the world's top scientists, his investigation leads him, unexpectedly, to psychopaths. He meets an influential psychologist who is convinced that many important business leaders and politicians are in fact high-flying, high-functioning psychopaths, and teaches Ronson how to spot them. Armed with these new abilities, Ronson meets a patient inside an asylum for the criminally insane who insists that he's sane, a mere run-of-the-mill troubled youth, not a psychopath -...
When Jon Ronson is drawn into an elaborate hoax played on some of the world's top scientists, his investigation leads him, unexpectedly, to psychopaths. He meets an influential psychologist who is convinced that many important business leaders and politicians are in fact high-flying, high-functioning psychopaths, and teaches Ronson how to spot them. Armed with these new abilities, Ronson meets a patient inside an asylum for the criminally insane who insists that he's sane, a mere run-of-the-mill troubled youth, not a psychopath -...
- 2/18/2015
- by Jenni Miller
- Moviefone
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