The limits of imagination run wild in Sony Pictures’ trailer for Harold and the Purple Crayon, starring Zachary Levi as the keeper of a magical crayon able to bring any drawing to life! Based on the beloved children’s book written and illustrated by Crockett Johnson, the family-friendly adventure finds Levi starring as a grown-up Harold who rediscovers the power to manifest objects like a preschool Green Lantern.
Johnson’s classic novel, Harold and the Purple Crayon, is about a curious four-year-old boy with a magic purple crayon that has the power to make anything he draws become real. Hollywood has been attempting to bring the story to the big screen for decades, and it seems time has finally arrived. The new film, directed by Carlos Saldanha, presents a new spin on the story, with Zachary Levi playing a grown-up Harold who escapes from the book into the real world alongside two of his friends,...
Johnson’s classic novel, Harold and the Purple Crayon, is about a curious four-year-old boy with a magic purple crayon that has the power to make anything he draws become real. Hollywood has been attempting to bring the story to the big screen for decades, and it seems time has finally arrived. The new film, directed by Carlos Saldanha, presents a new spin on the story, with Zachary Levi playing a grown-up Harold who escapes from the book into the real world alongside two of his friends,...
- 3/20/2024
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Harold and the Purple Crayon is a beloved children’s book written and illustrated by Crockett Johnson about a curious four-year-old boy with a magic purple crayon that has the power to make anything he draws become real. Hollywood has been attempting to bring the story to the big screen for decades, and it seems that time has finally arrived. Sony Pictures has dropped a pair of posters for the live-action adaptation of Harold and the Purple Crayon, which stars Zachary Levi.
As you might be aware, Zachary Levi is not a four-year-old boy, so the movie is obviously switching up the story somewhat. Sony hasn’t released an official plot synopsis yet, but here’s my prediction: A now grown-up Harold has mostly forgotten about his magical purple crayon, believing it was a product of his young imagination. But when Harold finds himself in debt to the mob, he...
As you might be aware, Zachary Levi is not a four-year-old boy, so the movie is obviously switching up the story somewhat. Sony hasn’t released an official plot synopsis yet, but here’s my prediction: A now grown-up Harold has mostly forgotten about his magical purple crayon, believing it was a product of his young imagination. But when Harold finds himself in debt to the mob, he...
- 3/13/2024
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
For years, Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net has been about two things only – awesome art and the artists that create it. With that in mind, we thought why not take the first week of the month to showcase these awesome artists even more? Welcome to “Awesome Artist We’ve Found Around The Net.” In this column, we are focusing on one artist and the awesome art that they create, whether they be amateur, up-and-coming, or well-established. The goal is to uncover these artists so even more people become familiar with them. We ask these artists a few questions to see their origins, influences, and more. If you are an awesome artist or know someone that should be featured, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com. This month we are very pleased to bring you the awesome art of…
Bryan Johnson
Bryan Johnson is an award-winning Theatrical Designer,...
Bryan Johnson
Bryan Johnson is an award-winning Theatrical Designer,...
- 8/5/2023
- by Theodore Bond
- JoBlo.com
Gwar know their own legend. When the self-professed Scumdogs of the Universe dipped through NPR for a Tiny Desk Concert recently, frontman Blöthar the Berserker admitted, “Let’s face it, Gwar’s a little bit lowbrow … sub-brow maybe.” But nevertheless, they performed a four-song, 20-minute set of their special brand of intergalactic dreck for the highbrow, nonprofit news network.
Although they abstained from their usual antics — celebrity murders, spraying everyone with fake semen — the costumed headbangers still brought along beloved maestro Willhelm Fartwrangler to conduct “Sex Cow in G-flat Minor,...
Although they abstained from their usual antics — celebrity murders, spraying everyone with fake semen — the costumed headbangers still brought along beloved maestro Willhelm Fartwrangler to conduct “Sex Cow in G-flat Minor,...
- 7/17/2023
- by Kory Grow
- Rollingstone.com
Film Academy chief executive Bill Kramer dropped a reminder in Toronto on Saturday, that his group’s movie museum will in February devote space to the late director John Singleton’s Boyz N The Hood.
So here’s a gentle plea to the museum: Do this one without apology.
For the moment, the Academy and its museum are in apology mode. Next Saturday brings “An Evening With Sacheen Littlefeather,” complete with “a long-awaited statement of apology from the Academy” for what it describes as 50 years of boycott, attack, harassment and discrimination following Sacheen’s on-stage rejection of an Oscar meant for Marlon Brando.
The museum’s current “Regeneration” celebration of black cinema likewise comes with a note of regret. “We should have seen it long before now, but this is the day it begins,” Academy governor Ava DuVernay said of black achievement while introducing the show.
The apologies are perhaps in order.
So here’s a gentle plea to the museum: Do this one without apology.
For the moment, the Academy and its museum are in apology mode. Next Saturday brings “An Evening With Sacheen Littlefeather,” complete with “a long-awaited statement of apology from the Academy” for what it describes as 50 years of boycott, attack, harassment and discrimination following Sacheen’s on-stage rejection of an Oscar meant for Marlon Brando.
The museum’s current “Regeneration” celebration of black cinema likewise comes with a note of regret. “We should have seen it long before now, but this is the day it begins,” Academy governor Ava DuVernay said of black achievement while introducing the show.
The apologies are perhaps in order.
- 9/11/2022
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
There are times in nonfiction film when daring — and magic — arrives in a surprisingly simple and quiet way. “Hello, Bookstore” is a documentary about a venerable and beloved independent bookstore in Lenox, Mass. The place is called The Bookstore, and it first opened its doors in 1973. Ever since 1976, it has been owned and operated by Matthew Tannenbaum, a tall, solicitous, eccentric, engagingly garrulous lover of stories and words and literature who ritually answers the phone with a jaunty nerdish “Hello, bookstore!” Handsome in an eagle-ish way, with an easy smile and a full mop of gray curls, Tannenbaum, in his mid-70s, has the look and attitude of a debonair English professor, but he’s a more modest mensch than that — a boomer bibliophile without a glint of pretension, one who happily spends his days stocking shelves, poring over invoices he should have digitized years ago, and chatting away with his customers,...
- 5/9/2022
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Nehemiah Persoff, an actor who went from the uncredited role of a cab driver in On The Waterfront‘s iconic “coulda been a contender” scene to become one of the busiest character actors in television and film for five decades, died Tuesday at a rehabilitation facility in San Luis Obispo, California. He was 102.
Persoff had retired from acting in recent decades after suffering a stroke and other health issues. His death was reported to Deadline by a family friend.
Born in Jerusalem, Palestine, Persoff and his family moved to the United States in 1929, and after serving in the U.S. Army in World War II he relocated to New York to pursue a career in theater. He became a member of the famed Actors Studio in the late 1940s, studying with Elia Kazan, who would pay him a reported 75 to play the silent cab driver in Waterfront.
Persoff was also performing...
Persoff had retired from acting in recent decades after suffering a stroke and other health issues. His death was reported to Deadline by a family friend.
Born in Jerusalem, Palestine, Persoff and his family moved to the United States in 1929, and after serving in the U.S. Army in World War II he relocated to New York to pursue a career in theater. He became a member of the famed Actors Studio in the late 1940s, studying with Elia Kazan, who would pay him a reported 75 to play the silent cab driver in Waterfront.
Persoff was also performing...
- 4/6/2022
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Photo: ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ Introduction ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ is not your typical children’s movie. The film, directed by Spike Jonze of ‘Jackass’ and music video fame, is based on the book of the same name by Maurice Sendak. The book, originally published in 1963, is considered by many to be a childhood staple. With a legacy like this, the film was expected to be a huge hit in 2009. When the film premiered, though, with its darker mood and tone, it left audiences a little baffled. Audiences and critics didn’t know how to take a children’s film that was so dreary in tone, a children’s film that was so serious. While a good deal of may see ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ as a gritty adaptation of a children’s book, the film is an imaginative portrayal of what it is like to be a child.
- 1/3/2022
- by Brianna Benozich
- Hollywood Insider - Substance & Meaningful Entertainment
Apple TV+ today announced a straight-to-series order for Jane, a new series for kids and families from Emmy Award-winner J.J. Johnson, Sinking Ship Entertainment, and the Jane Goodall Institute. Jane follows Jane Garcia, a 10-year-old girl with an active imagination. Through pretend play, Jane and her trusty teammates work to protect an endangered animal in each mission-driven episode because, according to her idol, “Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help, can they be saved.” Jane is a live action/CGI blended series and created and executive produced by J.J. Johnson, with the Jane Goodall Institute also serving as executive producers. It is the second Apple Original series that will be produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment, joining Daytime Emmy Award-winning series Ghostwriter, which recently premiered its second season on Apple TV+. Other Apple TV+ fare in kids and...
- 2/8/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Apple has given a straight-to-series order for the children’s series “Jane” from J.J. Johnson, Sinking Ship Entertainment, and the Jane Goodall Institute.
The series is titled “Jane.” It will feature a mixture of live-action and CGI as it follows Jane Garcia, a 10-year-old girl with an active imagination. Through pretend play, Jane and her trusty teammates work to protect an endangered animal in each mission-driven episode because, according to her idol, “Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help, can they be saved.”
Johnson created the series and will serve as executive producer via Sinking Ship. The Jane Goodall Institute will also executive produce.
“Jane” marks the second Apple Original series that will be produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment, joining Daytime Emmy Award-winning reboot series “Ghostwriter,” which recently premiered its second season.
The Jane Goodall Institute was founded in 1977 to further Dr.
The series is titled “Jane.” It will feature a mixture of live-action and CGI as it follows Jane Garcia, a 10-year-old girl with an active imagination. Through pretend play, Jane and her trusty teammates work to protect an endangered animal in each mission-driven episode because, according to her idol, “Only if we understand, will we care. Only if we care, will we help. Only if we help, can they be saved.”
Johnson created the series and will serve as executive producer via Sinking Ship. The Jane Goodall Institute will also executive produce.
“Jane” marks the second Apple Original series that will be produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment, joining Daytime Emmy Award-winning reboot series “Ghostwriter,” which recently premiered its second season.
The Jane Goodall Institute was founded in 1977 to further Dr.
- 2/8/2021
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Apple TV+ has signed a multiyear overall deal with The Maurice Sendak Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports the artistic legacy of “Where the Wild Things Are” author Maurice Sendak and promotes emerging artists in children’s literature and theater design.
As part of the deal, Apple and The Maurice Sendak Foundation will reimagine new children’s series and specials based on Sendak’s books and illustrations. Any projects that come out of the deal will premiere both domestically and internationally exclusively on Apple TV+.
This is the first overall deal that the foundation has signed with any streaming service. Through the deal, Apple will work with Arthur Yorinks, a writer-director and longtime collaborator of Sendak’s, through his Night Kitchen Studios to develop projects inspired by Sendak’s works.
Also Read: Google Will Pay for 'High-Quality' Publishers as Part of 'New News Experience'
Sendak, who died in 2012, first rose...
As part of the deal, Apple and The Maurice Sendak Foundation will reimagine new children’s series and specials based on Sendak’s books and illustrations. Any projects that come out of the deal will premiere both domestically and internationally exclusively on Apple TV+.
This is the first overall deal that the foundation has signed with any streaming service. Through the deal, Apple will work with Arthur Yorinks, a writer-director and longtime collaborator of Sendak’s, through his Night Kitchen Studios to develop projects inspired by Sendak’s works.
Also Read: Google Will Pay for 'High-Quality' Publishers as Part of 'New News Experience'
Sendak, who died in 2012, first rose...
- 7/6/2020
- by Margeaux Sippell
- The Wrap
Apple could be heading to the jungle island with Max and his wolf costume after striking an overall deal with The Maurice Sendak Foundation.
The streamer is getting into business with the Where The Wild Things Are creator’s estate to develop and produce new shows and specials based on Sendak’s work.
It is the first such deal struck by the foundation and runs multi-year.
The deal will add more kids stories and characters to Apple TV+’s line up, which already includes shows from Sesame Workshop, Peanuts and The Jim Henson Company. These include Helpsters, Ghostwriter, Snoopy in Space and Peanuts in Space: Secrets of Apollo 10.
Sendak’s best known book is Where the Wild Things Are, which was released in 1963 and tells the story of Max, who becomes the kind of the Wild Things before becoming lonely and going back home. That book has been adapted a...
The streamer is getting into business with the Where The Wild Things Are creator’s estate to develop and produce new shows and specials based on Sendak’s work.
It is the first such deal struck by the foundation and runs multi-year.
The deal will add more kids stories and characters to Apple TV+’s line up, which already includes shows from Sesame Workshop, Peanuts and The Jim Henson Company. These include Helpsters, Ghostwriter, Snoopy in Space and Peanuts in Space: Secrets of Apollo 10.
Sendak’s best known book is Where the Wild Things Are, which was released in 1963 and tells the story of Max, who becomes the kind of the Wild Things before becoming lonely and going back home. That book has been adapted a...
- 7/6/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Apple is going Where the Wild Things Are.
The tech giant has struck a deal with the foundation overseeing author Maurice Sendak's work to develop kids' series and specials based on his stories. The multiyear deal is the first of its kind for Apple, which will develop the projects for its TV+ streaming platform.
Through the deal, Apple and The Maurice Sendak Foundation will reimagine new children's series and specials based on the author's books and illustrations. In addition to his most famous work, Where the Wild Things Are, Sendak's books include In the Night Kitchen, Outside Over ...
The tech giant has struck a deal with the foundation overseeing author Maurice Sendak's work to develop kids' series and specials based on his stories. The multiyear deal is the first of its kind for Apple, which will develop the projects for its TV+ streaming platform.
Through the deal, Apple and The Maurice Sendak Foundation will reimagine new children's series and specials based on the author's books and illustrations. In addition to his most famous work, Where the Wild Things Are, Sendak's books include In the Night Kitchen, Outside Over ...
Grégoire Melin’s Paris-based Kinology will sell Sacrebleu’s upcoming animated feature “Sirocco and the Kingdom of the Winds,” set to host Was an Annecy Works in Progress panel at the upcoming digital version of the world’s largest animation festival and market.
At March’s Cartoon Movie in the French port city of Bordeaux, the films singular visuals and family-friendly story caught the eye of many in attendance, and makes it one of the most anticipated productions set to participate at this year’s Annecy.
Kinology has a strong reputation in dealing with independent arthouse animated features, including the critically acclaimed 2014 Annecy main competition player “Mune: Guardian of the Moon.”
“We’re thrilled to partner with Ron and Benoit on such a unique, poetic and emotional journey; it has everything to become a true future kids’ classic in the line of ‘The King and the Mockingbird’ and ‘Kirikou,’” Kinology CEO Grégoire Melin told Variety.
At March’s Cartoon Movie in the French port city of Bordeaux, the films singular visuals and family-friendly story caught the eye of many in attendance, and makes it one of the most anticipated productions set to participate at this year’s Annecy.
Kinology has a strong reputation in dealing with independent arthouse animated features, including the critically acclaimed 2014 Annecy main competition player “Mune: Guardian of the Moon.”
“We’re thrilled to partner with Ron and Benoit on such a unique, poetic and emotional journey; it has everything to become a true future kids’ classic in the line of ‘The King and the Mockingbird’ and ‘Kirikou,’” Kinology CEO Grégoire Melin told Variety.
- 6/11/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
A mix of beloved older films, recent thriller and horror movies, and an original comedy special are all included in the list of titles coming to Amazon Prime in June.
Films that are set to join the service include 1987's Dirty Dancing and 2004's Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights; last year's Child's Play remake and whodunit Knives Out; Amazon original film 7500, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and 2020 arrival Guns Akimbo, starring Daniel Radcliffe; Adam Sandler comedies Grown Ups and Don't Mess With the Zohan; Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol; and Spike Jonze's 2009 movie version of the classic Maurice Sendak children'...
Films that are set to join the service include 1987's Dirty Dancing and 2004's Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights; last year's Child's Play remake and whodunit Knives Out; Amazon original film 7500, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and 2020 arrival Guns Akimbo, starring Daniel Radcliffe; Adam Sandler comedies Grown Ups and Don't Mess With the Zohan; Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol; and Spike Jonze's 2009 movie version of the classic Maurice Sendak children'...
- 5/31/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
A mix of beloved older films, recent thriller and horror movies, and an original comedy special are all included in the list of titles coming to Amazon Prime in June.
Films that are set to join the service include 1987's Dirty Dancing and 2004's Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights; last year's Child's Play remake and whodunit Knives Out; Amazon original film 7500, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and 2020 arrival Guns Akimbo, starring Daniel Radcliffe; Adam Sandler comedies Grown Ups and Don't Mess With the Zohan; Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol; and Spike Jonze's 2009 movie version of the classic Maurice Sendak children'...
Films that are set to join the service include 1987's Dirty Dancing and 2004's Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights; last year's Child's Play remake and whodunit Knives Out; Amazon original film 7500, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and 2020 arrival Guns Akimbo, starring Daniel Radcliffe; Adam Sandler comedies Grown Ups and Don't Mess With the Zohan; Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol; and Spike Jonze's 2009 movie version of the classic Maurice Sendak children'...
- 5/31/2020
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It may seem strange to suggest that the greatest discovery for bibliophiles this week is actually a movie. But as Maurice Sendak said, “There’s so much more to a book than just the reading.”
D.W. Young’s “The Booksellers” pays warm-hearted tribute to the reading, but also the shopping, the rifling, the obsessing, the complaining, the dreaming, the list-making, the shelf-organizing, and everything else book-lovers love to do.
Another one of those impulsive habits is the collecting of random and surprising facts, and we learn a great many of them in Young’s lovely documentary. But among the most notable is this: In the 1950s, there were 368 bookstores in New York City.
Also Read: Where's the Black Bridget Jones? Why It's So Hard to Find Diverse Romance Stories (Guest Blog)
368! Today, there are 79. And admit it: even that number now sounds surprisingly high. Once, there were nearly half that many on 4th Avenue alone.
D.W. Young’s “The Booksellers” pays warm-hearted tribute to the reading, but also the shopping, the rifling, the obsessing, the complaining, the dreaming, the list-making, the shelf-organizing, and everything else book-lovers love to do.
Another one of those impulsive habits is the collecting of random and surprising facts, and we learn a great many of them in Young’s lovely documentary. But among the most notable is this: In the 1950s, there were 368 bookstores in New York City.
Also Read: Where's the Black Bridget Jones? Why It's So Hard to Find Diverse Romance Stories (Guest Blog)
368! Today, there are 79. And admit it: even that number now sounds surprisingly high. Once, there were nearly half that many on 4th Avenue alone.
- 3/5/2020
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
Spoiler Alert: Proceed with caution if you have not yet watched “John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch,” streaming now on Netflix.
Children’s entertainment based on “existential angst and fear” might not seem like a natural combination on the face of it, but according to John Mulaney, that combination’s fueled the genre for as long as he can remember.
“A lot of entertainment that I consumed as a kid had a lot of either melancholy or dread, and it was not some undertone,” the comedian tells Variety. “Even things like ‘I know an old lady who swallowed a fly’ — every part of that [song] is odd and disturbing!”
And so as he set about building “John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch,” his new variety special for Netflix, co-written by Marika Sawyer (“Saturday Night Live”) with music by composer Eli Bolin. They drew inspiration from musical influences including Burt Bacharach,...
Children’s entertainment based on “existential angst and fear” might not seem like a natural combination on the face of it, but according to John Mulaney, that combination’s fueled the genre for as long as he can remember.
“A lot of entertainment that I consumed as a kid had a lot of either melancholy or dread, and it was not some undertone,” the comedian tells Variety. “Even things like ‘I know an old lady who swallowed a fly’ — every part of that [song] is odd and disturbing!”
And so as he set about building “John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch,” his new variety special for Netflix, co-written by Marika Sawyer (“Saturday Night Live”) with music by composer Eli Bolin. They drew inspiration from musical influences including Burt Bacharach,...
- 12/24/2019
- by Caroline Framke
- Variety Film + TV
Early in John Mulaney’s new Netflix special John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch (debuting December 24th), one of the comedian’s underage co-stars asks him what the tone of the show is supposed to be. “Is it ironic,” she wonders, “or do you like doing a children’s show?” Mulaney confesses that his answer depends on how the special turns out: If it’s bad, he’ll claim he meant it to be ironic. If it’s good, he’ll brag about how hard everyone worked. “You can go very far in life,...
- 12/23/2019
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Rollingstone.com
It hasn’t been the most enjoyable week for news from Hollywood, so if you need to head into the weekend with a smile, this Michel Gondry directed ad for U.K. retailer John Lewis will do the trick.
Riffing pretty hard on “Where The Wild Things Are” (to the point where I think the Maurice Sendak estate might have a case), the charming promo follows a young boy, who befriends the monster under his bed, playing with him all night long.
Continue reading Michael Gondry Goes ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ With John Lewis Christmas Ad at The Playlist.
Riffing pretty hard on “Where The Wild Things Are” (to the point where I think the Maurice Sendak estate might have a case), the charming promo follows a young boy, who befriends the monster under his bed, playing with him all night long.
Continue reading Michael Gondry Goes ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ With John Lewis Christmas Ad at The Playlist.
- 11/10/2017
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Now That is funny. If you can’t do one thing then definitely do another thing that makes more sense for your skill set. I wonder if Sendak even contemplated hiring someone to draw horses for him, or if it was just too much trouble and possibly too much money. Having tried to audition authors for my own book covers I can tell anyone that wants to listen that hiring a graphic artist is not cheap, not at all. Even for a kids book this kind of effort is something that most artists want to get paid well for, and I
What “Where the Wild Things Are” Could Have Been if Maurice Sendak Could Draw a Horse...
What “Where the Wild Things Are” Could Have Been if Maurice Sendak Could Draw a Horse...
- 10/20/2017
- by Wake
- TVovermind.com
Led by Artistic Director Michael Friedman, the popular Encores Off-Center series returns for its fifth season of landmark Off-Broadway musicals, continuing with Carole King and Maurice Sendak's family musical Really Rosie, directed by Leigh Silverman August 2-5.
- 8/2/2017
- by BroadwayWorld TV
- BroadwayWorld.com
(Aotn) Ever wonder what happened to several high profile projects that various well-known directors were said to be helming, but somehow have never seen the light of day? Many of these films were either “pet projects” for the directors or they ended up getting tied up in so many legal battles that eventually they were just scrapped or the director ended up simply walking away.
The wonderful folks over at IndieWire have complied a fantastic list compiling several of these films that have yet to see the light of day from directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Kathryn Bigelow, Christopher Nolan and more!
First up is director Christopher Nolan’s rumored Howard Hughes biopic. In several interviews Nolan called the script for the film “the best he had ever written”, in fact, the film was even picked by Castle Rock in 2002 and actor Jim Carrey was attached to star. So, just where did things go wrong?...
The wonderful folks over at IndieWire have complied a fantastic list compiling several of these films that have yet to see the light of day from directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Kathryn Bigelow, Christopher Nolan and more!
First up is director Christopher Nolan’s rumored Howard Hughes biopic. In several interviews Nolan called the script for the film “the best he had ever written”, in fact, the film was even picked by Castle Rock in 2002 and actor Jim Carrey was attached to star. So, just where did things go wrong?...
- 8/1/2017
- by Kristyn Clarke
- Age of the Nerd
Nobody sets out to make a bad movie. So why did cautionary tech thriller “The Circle” — adapted by lauded writer-director James Ponsoldt (“The Spectacular Now,” “The End of the Tour”) and beloved novelist Dave Eggers from his own 2013 bestseller — earn such negative reviews (43 on Metacritic, 17 on Rotten Tomatoes) and bomb at the box office ($9.3 million in 3,163 theaters)?
The movie went wrong in five significant ways.
1. The movie was foreign financed.
“The Circle” was developed by A-list ex-DreamWorks producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald’s Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation, which raised financing from Imagenation Abu Dhabi Fz and foreign sales company FilmNation on the power of Tom Hanks, who was the first star on board via his Playtone banner.
In order to raise an $18-million budget, globally bankable star Emma Watson was cast in a central leading role that demanded she be in every scene. Veering in tone from satiric comedy to naturalistic drama,...
The movie went wrong in five significant ways.
1. The movie was foreign financed.
“The Circle” was developed by A-list ex-DreamWorks producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald’s Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation, which raised financing from Imagenation Abu Dhabi Fz and foreign sales company FilmNation on the power of Tom Hanks, who was the first star on board via his Playtone banner.
In order to raise an $18-million budget, globally bankable star Emma Watson was cast in a central leading role that demanded she be in every scene. Veering in tone from satiric comedy to naturalistic drama,...
- 5/1/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Nobody sets out to make a bad movie. So why did cautionary tech thriller “The Circle” — adapted by lauded writer-director James Ponsoldt (“The Spectacular Now,” “The End of the Tour”) and beloved novelist Dave Eggers from his own 2013 bestseller — earn such negative reviews (43 on Metacritic, 17 on Rotten Tomatoes) and bomb at the box office ($9.3 million in 3,163 theaters)?
The movie went wrong in five significant ways.
1. The movie was foreign financed.
“The Circle” was developed by A-list ex-DreamWorks producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald’s Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation, which raised financing from Imagenation Abu Dhabi Fz and foreign sales company FilmNation on the power of Tom Hanks, who was the first star on board via his Playtone banner.
In order to raise an $18-million budget, globally bankable star Emma Watson was cast in a central leading role that demanded she be in every scene. Veering in tone from satiric comedy to naturalistic drama,...
The movie went wrong in five significant ways.
1. The movie was foreign financed.
“The Circle” was developed by A-list ex-DreamWorks producers Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald’s Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation, which raised financing from Imagenation Abu Dhabi Fz and foreign sales company FilmNation on the power of Tom Hanks, who was the first star on board via his Playtone banner.
In order to raise an $18-million budget, globally bankable star Emma Watson was cast in a central leading role that demanded she be in every scene. Veering in tone from satiric comedy to naturalistic drama,...
- 5/1/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
The annual White House Easter Egg Roll is right around the corner, so what better time to look back at how past presidents have hosted their egg rolls?
This tradition dates back to 1878, when President Rutherford B. Hayes welcomed local children to the White House South Lawn for the first official egg roll. The event, held each year on Easter Monday, has only ever been canceled due to bad weather, World War I and World War II.
The Easter Egg Roll is considered the most high-profile and elaborate public event thrown at the White House, as well as one of the most heavily promoted.
This tradition dates back to 1878, when President Rutherford B. Hayes welcomed local children to the White House South Lawn for the first official egg roll. The event, held each year on Easter Monday, has only ever been canceled due to bad weather, World War I and World War II.
The Easter Egg Roll is considered the most high-profile and elaborate public event thrown at the White House, as well as one of the most heavily promoted.
- 4/13/2017
- by Tierney McAfee
- PEOPLE.com
This post originally appeared on Entertainment Weekly.
Whether he’s reading to kids at the White House, hitting up local bookstores on Black Friday, or giving recommendations to his daughters, President Barack Obama may as well be known as the Commander in Books.
Potus is an avid reader and recently spoke to the New York Times about the significant, informative and inspirational role literature has played in his presidency, crediting books for allowing him to “slow down and get perspective.” With his presidency coming to an end this Friday, EW looked back at Obama’s lit picks over the years...
Whether he’s reading to kids at the White House, hitting up local bookstores on Black Friday, or giving recommendations to his daughters, President Barack Obama may as well be known as the Commander in Books.
Potus is an avid reader and recently spoke to the New York Times about the significant, informative and inspirational role literature has played in his presidency, crediting books for allowing him to “slow down and get perspective.” With his presidency coming to an end this Friday, EW looked back at Obama’s lit picks over the years...
- 1/19/2017
- by Mark Marino
- PEOPLE.com
Who decides what is pornography? Who gets to stop people from seeing it? And why do they bother?
A Utah state senator got a bill passed declaring pornography a public health crisis. It’s been a while since I’ve been in Utah, but I was in New York City a couple days ago and I figure if porn is a “public health crisis” in Utah, there would be some sign of that in the Big Apple. I saw no signs of any public health crisis whatsoever. I asked my fellow ComicMix columnist Mindy Newell if she’s seen any signs of a porn-related health pandemic; by day Mindy’s an operating room nurse in the New Jersey portion of the metropolitan area. She acknowledged that pornography might be a threat to the health of certain religions that maintain broad governmental power, but it’s not a physical health threat like,...
A Utah state senator got a bill passed declaring pornography a public health crisis. It’s been a while since I’ve been in Utah, but I was in New York City a couple days ago and I figure if porn is a “public health crisis” in Utah, there would be some sign of that in the Big Apple. I saw no signs of any public health crisis whatsoever. I asked my fellow ComicMix columnist Mindy Newell if she’s seen any signs of a porn-related health pandemic; by day Mindy’s an operating room nurse in the New Jersey portion of the metropolitan area. She acknowledged that pornography might be a threat to the health of certain religions that maintain broad governmental power, but it’s not a physical health threat like,...
- 5/25/2016
- by Mike Gold
- Comicmix.com
No matter what their abundance might tell you, adaptations of classic novels can be tricky. What works best in one medium and what works best in another are seldom the same thing. The two are so different, their strengths and weaknesses so unique and specific, that perhaps the old adage is true: some novels are simply unfilmable. (For example, Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian, which, until recently, James Franco has been threatening to adapt.) There are no rules to writing literary fiction and, of course, no ratings boards to sneak sex, drugs, and violence past. Yet, every now and then, a film comes along, defying logic and common sense to transform the impossible novel into the miraculous film.
Director Ben Wheatley‘s acclaimed adaptation of J.G. Ballard‘s classic entry in the catalog of the un-filmable, High-Rise, is now available on-demand and in select theaters this week. In the film,...
Director Ben Wheatley‘s acclaimed adaptation of J.G. Ballard‘s classic entry in the catalog of the un-filmable, High-Rise, is now available on-demand and in select theaters this week. In the film,...
- 5/11/2016
- by Tony Hinds
- The Film Stage
President Barack Obama got quite a surprise from several unwelcome guests during the annual Easter Egg Roll event earlier this week, but handled it like a pro. Potus began reading Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are to a group of kids on the lawn when a bunch of bees began to startle the little ones. And after seeing the concern on the children's faces, and watching them squirm away from the reading circle, Obama did his best to calm everyone down and ensure that everything was going to be Ok. "Oh no, it's a bee. That's Ok, guys. Bees are good, they won't land on you," he told the group of youngsters. "They won't sting you, they'll be Ok." His...
- 4/8/2015
- E! Online
Welcome back to Stay Tuned, Vulture's TV advice column. Each Wednesday, Margaret Lyons answers your questions about your various TV triumphs and woes. Need help? Have a theory? Want a recommendation? Submit a question! You can email staytuned@nymag.com or tweet @margeincharge with the hashtag #staytuned. I am the aunt to a large and growing gaggle of nieces and nephews. Are there any kids shows out there that won't make me want to stab out an eye? —JGThe problem with annoying kids' shows isn't that they're annoying. Everything is annoying; welcome to Earth. The problem is that you will see them several times a day, probably every day, for a good long while. Blue's Clues is perfectly innocuous — cute, even, when you watch it once. But that show airs the same episode every day for a week. The 1975 classic Really Rosie combines Carole King and Maurice Sendak and is...
- 2/18/2015
- by Margaret Lyons
- Vulture
Our top ten films of the 2014 countdown gets to number 8, and Spike Jonze's Her...
Over the past few weeks, Den of Geek writers have been voting for their favourite films of the year. In 8th place is Spike Jonze's story of a man falling in love with a computer. Here's why...
8. Her
When I received an email from the Den of Geek editorial team asking me to contribute to the ‘film of the year’ write ups, I thought back briefly over the top films list I’d submitted. With the exception of Her, they were big blustery action films. Without even reading the contents of the email, I went and got my onomatopoeic dictionary. I was clearly going to be writing about some kersmashes and kabooms. Spike Jonze’s film Her isn’t a very explodey film, and when I realised it was the film I’d be covering,...
Over the past few weeks, Den of Geek writers have been voting for their favourite films of the year. In 8th place is Spike Jonze's story of a man falling in love with a computer. Here's why...
8. Her
When I received an email from the Den of Geek editorial team asking me to contribute to the ‘film of the year’ write ups, I thought back briefly over the top films list I’d submitted. With the exception of Her, they were big blustery action films. Without even reading the contents of the email, I went and got my onomatopoeic dictionary. I was clearly going to be writing about some kersmashes and kabooms. Spike Jonze’s film Her isn’t a very explodey film, and when I realised it was the film I’d be covering,...
- 12/21/2014
- by sarahd
- Den of Geek
Stephen Colbert hasn't been just formidable as an interviewer on Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," he has been altogether intimidating as a host. His conservative pundit persona allowed for his line of questioning to guests in a skit or an interview to be more extreme and pressing, and for his follow-ups to either make fun of the subject or make fun of himself. It's a style and experience that will obviously serve Colbert well at his next gig -- behind the desk at "The Late Show..." -- but the length of "Colbert" plus the host's ability to transition between parody comedy to a sincere interrogation always kept the show's guests on their toes, even when their bits were scripted. The "Report" frequently featured its host singing and dancing, and on a metaphorical level, all the guest could (or had to) do was keep up. With "The Colbert Report" coming to a close tonight (Dec.
- 12/18/2014
- by Katie Hasty
- Hitfix
Welcome to Holiday Favorites, a series in which Slackerwood contributors and our friends talk about the movies we watch during the holiday season, holiday-related or otherwise.
Today's pick is from Claudette Godfrey, Short Film Programmer and Operations Manager for SXSW:
My job requires that I watch movies every day for 6+ months of the year, but I can honestly say my favorite time to watch movies is around the holidays. So, while there are so many movies from my childhood I love to re-watch each year. Like Home Alone! Scrooged!! The Santa Clause!! And of course Nutcracker: The Motion Picture, which is the creepiest and best Nutcracker ever because of Maurice Sendak's amazing brain.
But, the one that truly speaks to 6-year-old Claudette the most is The Christmas Toy. Made in 1986, a few years before Jim Henson passed, it first appeared on TV just before my first birthday. Thankfully, my...
Today's pick is from Claudette Godfrey, Short Film Programmer and Operations Manager for SXSW:
My job requires that I watch movies every day for 6+ months of the year, but I can honestly say my favorite time to watch movies is around the holidays. So, while there are so many movies from my childhood I love to re-watch each year. Like Home Alone! Scrooged!! The Santa Clause!! And of course Nutcracker: The Motion Picture, which is the creepiest and best Nutcracker ever because of Maurice Sendak's amazing brain.
But, the one that truly speaks to 6-year-old Claudette the most is The Christmas Toy. Made in 1986, a few years before Jim Henson passed, it first appeared on TV just before my first birthday. Thankfully, my...
- 12/3/2014
- by Elizabeth Stoddard
- Slackerwood
Dreamworks have p-p-p-picked up the penguins from the Madagascar movies for their own sugar-fuelled adventure, which comes with cheese puffs jokes for the kids, Cumberbatch, Malkovich and a Herzog gag for the grownups
There’s a famous story the illustrator and writer Maurice Sendak used to tell. The author of Where the Wild Things Are received a drawing from a child fan. He was taken with it and wrote a note back. The kid was so excited to hear from his hero that he took the card and ate it. Sendak called it one of the highest compliments to his work in his career.
This anarchic reflex, to devour something that elates us, is a running theme in Penguins of Madagascar – 90 minutes of computer-generated, bounce-off-the-walls exuberance. Chomping and swallowing just about anything is the superpower of one of our quartet (Rico), but there’s a great deal of stuffing, shoving...
There’s a famous story the illustrator and writer Maurice Sendak used to tell. The author of Where the Wild Things Are received a drawing from a child fan. He was taken with it and wrote a note back. The kid was so excited to hear from his hero that he took the card and ate it. Sendak called it one of the highest compliments to his work in his career.
This anarchic reflex, to devour something that elates us, is a running theme in Penguins of Madagascar – 90 minutes of computer-generated, bounce-off-the-walls exuberance. Chomping and swallowing just about anything is the superpower of one of our quartet (Rico), but there’s a great deal of stuffing, shoving...
- 11/26/2014
- by Jordan Hoffman
- The Guardian - Film News
Not a lot to say in the pre-amble to this week’s selection of titles. Should probably apologise for the negativity in advance because a lot of the below is dreck this week across any content provider apart from the occasional bright spot and a new Netflix exclusive. Hopefully you will be able to at least find something worth a look that floats your boat.
This week’s titles of note are as follows:
Gravity (2013)
There really isn’t anymore praise that I can heap on Alfonso Cuaron’s outer space thrill ride that hasn’t been heaped upon it already. Upon repeat viewing what impresses more and more is the technical marvel that this film represents with Gravity being a massive leap forward in the use of virtual sets as well as animation that looks like real people.
There are apparently whole entire scenes here featuring Sandra Bullock and...
This week’s titles of note are as follows:
Gravity (2013)
There really isn’t anymore praise that I can heap on Alfonso Cuaron’s outer space thrill ride that hasn’t been heaped upon it already. Upon repeat viewing what impresses more and more is the technical marvel that this film represents with Gravity being a massive leap forward in the use of virtual sets as well as animation that looks like real people.
There are apparently whole entire scenes here featuring Sandra Bullock and...
- 8/26/2014
- by Chris Holt
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Here at Tubefilter, we're big fans of Blank On Blank, PBS Digital Studios' series of archival interviews with famous figures. Episodes featuring the likes of Maurice Sendak and Jimi Hendrix have succeeded in bringing their departed subjects to life through sharp quotes and hand-drawn animation. The latest episode, which pays tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman, is no different. It gives viewers a poignant look at the psyche of the recently-deceased actor through audio culled from a December 2012 interview. Hoffman's thoughts on happiness are somewhat chilling, given the way they succinctly characters his obsession with his craft and his untimely death. The last line of the video is particularly haunting: "Learning how to die," says Hoffman, "is therefore learning how to live." While it is easy to watch the episode and use it to explain Hoffman's descent into addiction, it also stands alone as a smart monologue from a brilliant actor...
- 6/5/2014
- by Sam Gutelle
- Tubefilter.com
After his awards circuit one-two punch of playing Walt Disney in John Lee Hancock’s Saving Mr. Banks and playing the courageous title character in the Paul Greengrass piracy thriller Captain Phillips, Oscar winner Tom Hanks is stepping away from true-life dramas for his next project, Tom Tykwer’s Dave Eggers adaptation, A Hologram for the King.
Above, the first image for the film, unveiled exclusively by The Hollywood Reporter during Cannes, finds Hanks looking a little worse for wear in the Saudi Arabian desert. Calling him a fish out of water doesn’t even begin to cover it.
The comedic drama centers on a struggling, washed-up American salesman (Hanks) who, desperate to pay off debts and support his family, travels to Saudi Arabia in hopes of securing a massive It contract for a new complex being constructed in the middle of the desert. In addition to Hanks, who previously...
Above, the first image for the film, unveiled exclusively by The Hollywood Reporter during Cannes, finds Hanks looking a little worse for wear in the Saudi Arabian desert. Calling him a fish out of water doesn’t even begin to cover it.
The comedic drama centers on a struggling, washed-up American salesman (Hanks) who, desperate to pay off debts and support his family, travels to Saudi Arabia in hopes of securing a massive It contract for a new complex being constructed in the middle of the desert. In addition to Hanks, who previously...
- 5/14/2014
- by Isaac Feldberg
- We Got This Covered
Cute in Court: Bears and Mice Controversially Live In Harmony
We are not for lack of anthropomorphized mice nor bears, from all the way back to Mickey through Ratatouille‘s Remy, to Maurice Sendak’s Little Bear and Jungle Book‘s Baloo, yet Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar & Benjamin Renner’s loving adaptation of Gabrielle Vincent’s charmingly subdued children’s book series Ernest & Celestine most recalls that of another beloved bear – Winnie the Pooh. While Vincent’s original works utilized a somewhat scribbly watercolor look, the adapting filmmakers have acclimated Vincent’s style to the animated form, and in doing, have produced an earthy but elegant hand drawn effect that closely resembles Disney’s watercolored take on Alan Alexander Milne’s Hundred Acre Wood. Though bumbling and forever as hungry as Pooh bear, Ernest inhibits an allegorical microcosm far less innocent and far more socially critical than his honey-crazed counterpart.
We are not for lack of anthropomorphized mice nor bears, from all the way back to Mickey through Ratatouille‘s Remy, to Maurice Sendak’s Little Bear and Jungle Book‘s Baloo, yet Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar & Benjamin Renner’s loving adaptation of Gabrielle Vincent’s charmingly subdued children’s book series Ernest & Celestine most recalls that of another beloved bear – Winnie the Pooh. While Vincent’s original works utilized a somewhat scribbly watercolor look, the adapting filmmakers have acclimated Vincent’s style to the animated form, and in doing, have produced an earthy but elegant hand drawn effect that closely resembles Disney’s watercolored take on Alan Alexander Milne’s Hundred Acre Wood. Though bumbling and forever as hungry as Pooh bear, Ernest inhibits an allegorical microcosm far less innocent and far more socially critical than his honey-crazed counterpart.
- 3/13/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Feature Mark Harrison 5 Mar 2014 - 06:39
For every animated movie that gets made, there are dozens more that never make it. Mark looks at some failed Disney projects...
In the age of the internet, Hollywood studios are much quicker to announce the projects they have in development than they used to be. Now that the demand is there, there's a huge turnover of movie-related news every day, and if you follow it in any significant way, there are probably a whole bunch of projects that you've heard about, maybe even gotten excited about, that never came to fruition.
Still, it's not only via the easier availability of such information that we know about projects that never came to be. At a studio like Disney, projects will get as far as being fully developed in animatic form before falling apart, and the artefacts left behind from such abridged projects have made for some fascinating reading.
For every animated movie that gets made, there are dozens more that never make it. Mark looks at some failed Disney projects...
In the age of the internet, Hollywood studios are much quicker to announce the projects they have in development than they used to be. Now that the demand is there, there's a huge turnover of movie-related news every day, and if you follow it in any significant way, there are probably a whole bunch of projects that you've heard about, maybe even gotten excited about, that never came to fruition.
Still, it's not only via the easier availability of such information that we know about projects that never came to be. At a studio like Disney, projects will get as far as being fully developed in animatic form before falling apart, and the artefacts left behind from such abridged projects have made for some fascinating reading.
- 3/3/2014
- by sarahd
- Den of Geek
Spike Jonze can't speak for the Academy - who failed to nominate Scarlett Johansson for her critically-acclaimed voice performance in "Her" - but he, for one, was moved by the actress's portrayal of an artificially-intelligent operating system who falls in love with a human man. "I don't know enough about how the Academy decides that," said the director - talking backstage at the Oscars after winning Best Original Screenplay - of the organization's snub of Johansson's offscreen performance. "All I know is I saw what she did, and I loved what she did, and I was moved and affected by and watching her create that character even though it was just in a voice." Speaking of Jonze's big win on Sunday night, it came not for directing but for writing - the latter being a relatively new career path for the filmmaker behind such visionary efforts as "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation,...
- 3/3/2014
- by Chris Eggertsen
- Hitfix
Some of the best movies come from filmmakers on the rebound from a flop. After years of struggling to finish his labor of love, the idiosyncratic Maurice Sendak adaptation "Where the Wild Things Are," Spike Jonze has returned with a vengeance, for the first time writing as well as directing the story of a man on the rebound from a failed marriage. "Her" can be viewed as the flip side of Sofia Coppola's Oscar-winning movie about the end of their relationship, "Lost in Translation," a visual/aural tone poem that followed lonely, disconnected Scarlett Johannson around modern Tokyo, as she finds a soulmate with whom she can never truly mate. Jonze also puts Johannson front and center in this fractured future vision of a city, mostly shot in downtown Los Angeles. (This film reminds me of the way Jean-Luc Godard shot sci-fi film "Alphaville" in Paris, another movie with...
- 12/20/2013
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
The director's offbeat love story Her – about a man who falls in love with his computer operating system – is tipped for Oscar triumph. As he prepares his final cut, he talks exclusively about its stars, the past and the future
Spike Jonze is looking to the future. "I kinda think, as I look around, that everything is slowly getting a little bit nicer. You can go on Nike's website and choose exactly what fabrics and colours and shapes you want your sneakers to come in. Everything in La is; it's just an easy place to live in. The houses are nice, the backyards are nice, you got the ocean right there and the mountains behind you, there's an idealised easiness to the way you live and the whole environment.
"There's more good food here than ever before, better restaurants. In some parts of the world, like right here, you can...
Spike Jonze is looking to the future. "I kinda think, as I look around, that everything is slowly getting a little bit nicer. You can go on Nike's website and choose exactly what fabrics and colours and shapes you want your sneakers to come in. Everything in La is; it's just an easy place to live in. The houses are nice, the backyards are nice, you got the ocean right there and the mountains behind you, there's an idealised easiness to the way you live and the whole environment.
"There's more good food here than ever before, better restaurants. In some parts of the world, like right here, you can...
- 11/29/2013
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
Last night, the New York Comedy Festival held a Q&A with Stephen Colbert and The Colbert Report writing staff. In between a fan showing Colbert her tattoo of his signature and little kids asking questions, the team explained how they make the show every night. Over the course of 90 minutes, Colbert and the staff also revealed a slew of fun facts, such as how dogs can smell when Colbert is in character, what Colbert misses most about The Daily Show, what it was like working with Henry Kissinger and Maurice Sendak, and more. Here are eight highlights:The one cute joke Colbert most wished could've made it on air but didn't was about Daft Punk.Even before Viacom wouldn't let Daft Punk appear on The Colbert Report, the group had a lot of rules. First they wouldn't perform and then they said they wouldn't talk. So the show wrote a...
- 11/8/2013
- by Jesse David Fox
- Vulture
The character of Stephen Colbert contains exactly 13.4 percent of the real Stephen Colbert.
At least that’s what Stephen Colbert — the real, Emmy-winning, Second City-bred actor-comedian — told the audience at Thursday night’s New York Comedy Festival panel discussion featuring him and his writers on The Colbert Report. Fans crowded into Town Hall in New York City to hear the man behind the political satirist and one-time presidential nominee share how the writing team works to produce a topical show every night, and how he separates his character from himself.
“He’s very dumb, and it’s an aggressive dumbness,...
At least that’s what Stephen Colbert — the real, Emmy-winning, Second City-bred actor-comedian — told the audience at Thursday night’s New York Comedy Festival panel discussion featuring him and his writers on The Colbert Report. Fans crowded into Town Hall in New York City to hear the man behind the political satirist and one-time presidential nominee share how the writing team works to produce a topical show every night, and how he separates his character from himself.
“He’s very dumb, and it’s an aggressive dumbness,...
- 11/8/2013
- by Shirley Li
- EW.com - PopWatch
Spike Jonze's collaboration with Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O continues. Four years after the release of Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are," the 2009 Maurice Sendak adaptation for which O wrote the soundtrack, it's been revealed over at the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' official Facebook page that the singer has contributed a new track to the director's latest feature "Her" starring Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara and (the voice of) Scarlett Johansson. Entitled "The Moon Song," a snippet of the plaintive tune can be heard beginning around the 1:40 mark in the recently-released trailer for the film, which you can...
- 8/11/2013
- by HitFix Staff
- Hitfix
Sjp's l'il bookworms! Forget cartoons or playing on the iPad after school: When Sarah Jessica Parker's 4-year-old twins, Loretta and Tabitha, want to unwind, they bury their noses in a good book. "They like lots and lots of books," the Sex and the City actress, 48, tells Us Weekly of her daughters with husband Matthew Broderick, 51. One of the girls' recent favorites? Where the Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak's Outside Over There, about a young girl who rescues her baby sister after the child is [...]...
- 8/8/2013
- Us Weekly
Yesterday, while at the computer graphics convention Siggraph, where early Pixar short films dazzled attendees ("Andre and Wally B" premiered at the convention way back in 1987), the Hollywood Reporter stopped and asked Pixar titan Pete Docter about his next feature for the studio—2015's "Inside Out." He offered minor—but still tantalizing—details about a film that has been described to us as "wildly ambitious," even by Pixar standards. Docter told THR that it was "one of the most challenging stories I've ever had to put together." The movie, whose specifics are still being kept tightly under wraps, takes place almost entirely within the mind of an 11-year-old girl. The main characters are the emotions that exist inside her head—things like anger, sadness and joy. Based on this logline alone, it sounds like an insane mixture of Maurice Sendak's beloved children's book "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Cranium Command,...
- 7/23/2013
- by Drew Taylor
- The Playlist
Kickstarter might be a crowd-funding platform that can lead to the revival of entertainment properties (see Veronica Mars), but it's also being watched by publishers for the potential of infringing copyrights. Witness HarperCollins Publishers, which has just forced Kickstarter to remove a proposal for a sequel to Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. The project from UK illustrators Geoffrey O. Todd and Rich Berner intended to raise £25,000 for a book, Back to the Wild, that would share the story about what happened to Max and the creatures he encountered. The book was also going to be
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- 7/5/2013
- by Eriq Gardner
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Michael Aisner and James R. Stein were just teenagers when they got a chance of a lifetime to interview Louis Armstrong, for their high school radio station. In a newly released PBS animated short from Blank on Blank, the not so rookie pair share their charming interview with the music icon.
The Blank on Blank series has become popular for discovering lost interviews and rendering them with minimalist animation. Some of their past shorts have featured interviews with Maurice Sendak, Beastie Boys, Bono and even Larry King.
You can check out more interviews with literary, musical and media favorites here.
The Blank on Blank series has become popular for discovering lost interviews and rendering them with minimalist animation. Some of their past shorts have featured interviews with Maurice Sendak, Beastie Boys, Bono and even Larry King.
You can check out more interviews with literary, musical and media favorites here.
- 6/26/2013
- by Irina Dvalidze
- Huffington Post
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