Christopher Nolan is one of the few filmmakers who have successfully treaded the line between blockbuster and auteur cinema. Nolan’s filmography is filled with unique and exciting films, including the extremely popular The Dark Knight trilogy.
Christopher Nolan (Image Credit: Esquire UK | YouTube)
According to Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises, the finale of his trilogy, is his most underrated film. Nolan revealed why he felt the film deserves more love and fans seem to be in agreement with the acclaimed director. At the same time, Nolan compared the film to a classic novel by author Charles Dickens, and here is what he had to say.
Christopher Nolan Compares His The Dark Knight Rises to Charles Dickens’ Classic Novel
Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, was released in 2012, and went on to gross $1.085 billion at the global box office. However, it...
Christopher Nolan (Image Credit: Esquire UK | YouTube)
According to Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises, the finale of his trilogy, is his most underrated film. Nolan revealed why he felt the film deserves more love and fans seem to be in agreement with the acclaimed director. At the same time, Nolan compared the film to a classic novel by author Charles Dickens, and here is what he had to say.
Christopher Nolan Compares His The Dark Knight Rises to Charles Dickens’ Classic Novel
Directed by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, was released in 2012, and went on to gross $1.085 billion at the global box office. However, it...
- 4/10/2024
- by Pratik Handore
- FandomWire
This may be a controversial take, but Christopher Nolan's 2012 film "The Dark Knight Rises" is the best of the three Batman films Nolan directed, and is handily one of the best superhero films ever made. Produced in the wake of the 2011 Occupy Wall Street protests, "The Dark Knight Rises" addressed the issue of Batman's wealth, pointing out explicitly that being a Batman isn't the best use of one's money. Bruce Wayne is a billionaire, and yet Gotham City still languishes. Bane (Tom Hardy) may be a terrorist who takes the entire city hostage, but he also noted that superhero billionaires are at the heart of economic injustice. Superheroes are not the solution.
"The Dark Knight Rises" also finally allows Batman to retire. One can only be infected by angst-based impulses toward vigilantism for so long before his knees begin to give out. "Rises" questioned the efficiency and health of a Batman,...
"The Dark Knight Rises" also finally allows Batman to retire. One can only be infected by angst-based impulses toward vigilantism for so long before his knees begin to give out. "Rises" questioned the efficiency and health of a Batman,...
- 4/9/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Paige DeSorbo is looking to rent a new apartment. Her original budget was $9,000 a month. On Season 8, Episode 5 of Summer House Paige revealed to Lindsey Hubbard that she went to see a new apartment, only to find out the potential rent would be $12,000. The Manhattan apartment falls $3000 over Paige DeSorbo’s’ budget.
Paying The Difference
Lindsay Hubbard asked Craig Conover, Paige DeSorbos’s long-time boyfriend if he would contribute to the cost of the apartment. Paige answered for Craig stating no he would not be contributing to the cost of the apartment. Craig will be staying at the Manhattan apartment when he is in the city. Craig went on to explain to Lindsay that “what I said was, ‘If you find, like, a sick ass apartment but it’s outside of your budget, then I’ll cover the outside of your budget part,'” Craig added, “We’re not there yet…...
Paying The Difference
Lindsay Hubbard asked Craig Conover, Paige DeSorbos’s long-time boyfriend if he would contribute to the cost of the apartment. Paige answered for Craig stating no he would not be contributing to the cost of the apartment. Craig will be staying at the Manhattan apartment when he is in the city. Craig went on to explain to Lindsay that “what I said was, ‘If you find, like, a sick ass apartment but it’s outside of your budget, then I’ll cover the outside of your budget part,'” Craig added, “We’re not there yet…...
- 3/24/2024
- by Cheri Depriest
- TV Shows Ace
Eugene Lee, the six-time Emmy-winning production designer for Saturday Night Live since 1975 and a multiple Tony winner for such Broadway hits as Wicked, Sweeney Todd and Candide, died Tuesday in Providence, Ri. He was 83.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Woody Harrelson To Host 'Saturday Night Live' For Fifth Time Related Story 'SNL's Weekend Update Takes Swipes At George Santos' "New Lie" About 'Spider-Man' Musical & Donald Trump
As the production designer of SNL since the year of its debut, Lee was the longest-serving member of the NBC show’s production staff. He also served as production designer for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon from 2014-2018 and numerous SNL specials.
He also led the production design for Late Night with Seth Meyers and the 2000 television movie On Golden Pond, among others. For his work in television production design,...
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Woody Harrelson To Host 'Saturday Night Live' For Fifth Time Related Story 'SNL's Weekend Update Takes Swipes At George Santos' "New Lie" About 'Spider-Man' Musical & Donald Trump
As the production designer of SNL since the year of its debut, Lee was the longest-serving member of the NBC show’s production staff. He also served as production designer for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon from 2014-2018 and numerous SNL specials.
He also led the production design for Late Night with Seth Meyers and the 2000 television movie On Golden Pond, among others. For his work in television production design,...
- 2/8/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
It's not an exaggeration to say that "Andor" has been a project years in the making. The series was first announced back in 2018 — which feels like a lifetime ago — and the intervening years have been filled with enough hype, anticipation, and Vanity Fair features to excite even the most skeptical "Star Wars" fans. But even before "Andor" was a twinkle in Lucasfilm's eye, it felt like we'd been waiting forever for such a radical take on "Star Wars."
From the beginning, "Andor" was teased as a dramatically different "Star Wars" story, one that benefitted greatly from the big swing that "Rogue One" took back in 2016. Showrunner Tony Gilroy has been especially keen on managing expectations for the series: "Andor" is not the kind of "Star Wars" project that regurgitates everything we already know through cameos and Easter eggs. It's a series about a world on the brink of revolution,...
From the beginning, "Andor" was teased as a dramatically different "Star Wars" story, one that benefitted greatly from the big swing that "Rogue One" took back in 2016. Showrunner Tony Gilroy has been especially keen on managing expectations for the series: "Andor" is not the kind of "Star Wars" project that regurgitates everything we already know through cameos and Easter eggs. It's a series about a world on the brink of revolution,...
- 9/21/2022
- by Lyvie Scott
- Slash Film
Netflix is readying the debut of crime original “Santo,” which bows Sept., 16, marking a new milestone for the U.S. streaming giant – its first fiction project shot between Spain and Brazil, two of its key overseas markets.
A major undertaking, the series packs experienced partners and behind-the-camera talent. Produced by Nostromo Pictures (“Through My Window”) with support from Prodigo Films (“Invisible City”), the six-episode series is created by Carlos López (“La Embajada”) and directed by Vicente Amorim (“Yakuza Princess”), an auteur who has consolidated in the last few years as one of Brazil’s foremost action series helmers, having been attached to direct Netflix banner title “Senna.”
“Santo” follows two dogged but divergent cops, Cardona and Millán, as they chase an elusive drug trafficker implicated in occult-linked crimes occurring between Salvador de Bahia, Brazil and Madrid.
The criminal is omnipresent, leading the pair to put aside their mounting differences to...
A major undertaking, the series packs experienced partners and behind-the-camera talent. Produced by Nostromo Pictures (“Through My Window”) with support from Prodigo Films (“Invisible City”), the six-episode series is created by Carlos López (“La Embajada”) and directed by Vicente Amorim (“Yakuza Princess”), an auteur who has consolidated in the last few years as one of Brazil’s foremost action series helmers, having been attached to direct Netflix banner title “Senna.”
“Santo” follows two dogged but divergent cops, Cardona and Millán, as they chase an elusive drug trafficker implicated in occult-linked crimes occurring between Salvador de Bahia, Brazil and Madrid.
The criminal is omnipresent, leading the pair to put aside their mounting differences to...
- 9/15/2022
- by Holly Jones
- Variety Film + TV
It’s the ‘other’ version of Dickens’ terrific novel, an English film that few Americans have seen. This Australian DVD is in the Pal format and from a rather outdated transfer, yet I thoroughly enjoyed seeing a favorite story enacted by a great batch of UK talent. Dirk Bogarde stars and the many character roles go to familiar faces: Cecil Parker, Athene Seyler, Ian Bannen, Alfie Bass, Rosalie Crutchley, Freda Jackson, Christopher Lee, Leo McKern, Donald Pleasence, Eric Pohlmann, Danny Green and the lovely Marie Versini. It’s a regular actor-spotting quiz. Ralph Thomas directed and much of the film was shot in France … with excellent English diction.
A Tale of Two Cities
Region 2 Pal DVD
Viavision (Australia)
1958 / B&w / 1:33 adapted flat / 117 min. / Street Date January 5, 2022 / Available from Viavision / 19.95 au
Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Dorothy Tutin, Cecil Parker, Stephen Murray, Athene Seyler, Paul Guers, Marie Versini, Ian Bannen, Alfie Bass,...
A Tale of Two Cities
Region 2 Pal DVD
Viavision (Australia)
1958 / B&w / 1:33 adapted flat / 117 min. / Street Date January 5, 2022 / Available from Viavision / 19.95 au
Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Dorothy Tutin, Cecil Parker, Stephen Murray, Athene Seyler, Paul Guers, Marie Versini, Ian Bannen, Alfie Bass,...
- 1/25/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Exclusive: Sonia Mena (Invasion), Catherine Missal (The Blacklist) and Alicia Crowder (Bleecker) are set as series regulars opposite Grace Van Patten and Jackson White in Tell Me Lies, Hulu’s straight-to-series drama based on Carola Lovering’s novel, which is executive produced by Emma Roberts.
Adapted by Meaghan Oppenheimer, Tell Me Lies follows a tumultuous but intoxicating relationship as it unfolds over the course of 8 years. When Lucy Albright (Van Patten) and Stephen DeMarco (White) meet at college, they are at that formative age when seemingly mundane choices lead the way to irrevocable consequences. Although their relationship begins like any typical campus romance, they quickly fall into an addictive entanglement that will permanently alter not only their lives, but the lives of everyone around them.
Mena will play Pippa, the ringleader of the group who uses her bravado to mask a deep insecurity. Although she’d never admit it, she...
Adapted by Meaghan Oppenheimer, Tell Me Lies follows a tumultuous but intoxicating relationship as it unfolds over the course of 8 years. When Lucy Albright (Van Patten) and Stephen DeMarco (White) meet at college, they are at that formative age when seemingly mundane choices lead the way to irrevocable consequences. Although their relationship begins like any typical campus romance, they quickly fall into an addictive entanglement that will permanently alter not only their lives, but the lives of everyone around them.
Mena will play Pippa, the ringleader of the group who uses her bravado to mask a deep insecurity. Although she’d never admit it, she...
- 12/9/2021
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Cannes Lions, the annual gathering for the advertising and marketing community, will take place online again this year, running June 21-25, but every effort is being made to make it as live an event as possible.
The show will be broadcast live every day, although the sessions will also be available on demand.
There are “Daily Award Shows” hosted by Juan Señor in Cannes, during which the winner of each awards category will be revealed.
Five 90-minute shows will cover the 28 award categories. The Lions Awards did not take place last year so jurors have been assessing two years of creative output.
In addition, there will be one-hour specials, known as “The Debrief” sessions, on the awards with the jury president of each section hosting a deep dive into the work and chatting with winners. Plus, there’s a daily presentation and a wrap up, during which the day’s...
The show will be broadcast live every day, although the sessions will also be available on demand.
There are “Daily Award Shows” hosted by Juan Señor in Cannes, during which the winner of each awards category will be revealed.
Five 90-minute shows will cover the 28 award categories. The Lions Awards did not take place last year so jurors have been assessing two years of creative output.
In addition, there will be one-hour specials, known as “The Debrief” sessions, on the awards with the jury president of each section hosting a deep dive into the work and chatting with winners. Plus, there’s a daily presentation and a wrap up, during which the day’s...
- 6/21/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Short stories don’t often get the respect they deserve, and short films — which the film industry has deemed worthless rather than figure out how to monetize — don’t often get any respect at all. Unless, that is, several of them are packaged to resemble a feature, like three kids stacked on top of each other inside a trenchcoat and trying to pass for a single adult.
A playful triptych of self-contained vignettes (complete with their own credit blocks) that are bound together by a shared fascination with memory, coincidence, and the deep truths that shallow lies tend to uncover, Hamaguchi Ryūsuke’s wonderfully beguiling “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy” is neither fish nor fowl. It feels more like a single film than it does a trio of smaller ones that have been stitched together into a makeshift anthology, but the finished product is only greater than the sum of...
A playful triptych of self-contained vignettes (complete with their own credit blocks) that are bound together by a shared fascination with memory, coincidence, and the deep truths that shallow lies tend to uncover, Hamaguchi Ryūsuke’s wonderfully beguiling “Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy” is neither fish nor fowl. It feels more like a single film than it does a trio of smaller ones that have been stitched together into a makeshift anthology, but the finished product is only greater than the sum of...
- 3/4/2021
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Few ’30s classics have held up as well as this MGM blockbuster, a costume thriller that in spirit is quite faithful to the great Charles Dickens novel. Heroes don’t come more sophisticated or noble than Ronald Colman’s Sydney Carton, nor as vile as Basil Rathbone’s Marquis St. Evrémonde. David O. Selznick’s impeccable production hits all the right notes and even downplays the ‘save the royals’ sentiments. This is the one where the Bastille gets stormed and a chortling hag cheers every drop of a guillotine blade. The show even has a connection to producer Val Lewton. Just remember that activities like capitol-storming and public executions need to stay back in the 18th century where they belong.
A Tale of Two Cities
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1935 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 126 min. / Street Date February 9, 2021 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, Edna May Oliver, Donald Woods,...
A Tale of Two Cities
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1935 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 126 min. / Street Date February 9, 2021 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, Edna May Oliver, Donald Woods,...
- 2/6/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Ronald Colman in A Tale Of Two Cities (1935) will be available on Blu-ray February 2nd from Warner Archive – Ordering info can be found Here
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Charles Dickens’ tale of love and tumult during the French Revolution comes to the screen in a sumptuous film version by the producer famed for nurturing sprawling literary works: David O. Selznick. Ronald Colman (The Prisoner of Zenda) stars as Sydney Carton – sardonic, dissolute, a wastrel…and destined to redeem himself in an act of courageous sacrifice. “It’s a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done,” Carton muses at that defining moment. This is far, far better filmmaking too: a Golden Era marvel of uncanny performances top to bottom, eye-filling crowd scenes and lasting emotional power. Revolution is in the air!
Special Features: “Audioscopiks” (MGM short); Two Classic Cartoons “Hey,...
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” Charles Dickens’ tale of love and tumult during the French Revolution comes to the screen in a sumptuous film version by the producer famed for nurturing sprawling literary works: David O. Selznick. Ronald Colman (The Prisoner of Zenda) stars as Sydney Carton – sardonic, dissolute, a wastrel…and destined to redeem himself in an act of courageous sacrifice. “It’s a far, far better thing I do than I have ever done,” Carton muses at that defining moment. This is far, far better filmmaking too: a Golden Era marvel of uncanny performances top to bottom, eye-filling crowd scenes and lasting emotional power. Revolution is in the air!
Special Features: “Audioscopiks” (MGM short); Two Classic Cartoons “Hey,...
- 1/18/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
Charles Dickens classic “A Tale of Two Cities” begins with the famous line “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” As it was in 1859 when Dickens historical novel was first published, so it was in 2020. While this year surely saw the worst of times, 2020 saw some of the best, truly fabulous and most beautiful of moments.
Mankind celebrated the thrilling launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the surprise announcements made by DC and Marvel on both the TV and movie fronts, and “Some Good News...
Charles Dickens classic “A Tale of Two Cities” begins with the famous line “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” As it was in 1859 when Dickens historical novel was first published, so it was in 2020. While this year surely saw the worst of times, 2020 saw some of the best, truly fabulous and most beautiful of moments.
Mankind celebrated the thrilling launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the surprise announcements made by DC and Marvel on both the TV and movie fronts, and “Some Good News...
- 12/31/2020
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In today’s Global Bulletin, Entertainment One picks up the rights to Australian drama “The Newsreader,” Banijay reorganizes in Iberia, “Downton Abbey” lands on BritBox, Sony Pictures Television hires Jo Porter and Warner Bros. International will distribute Hungry Bear Media’s new game show.
Series
Entertainment One (eOne) has acquired international distribution rights to “The Newsreader,” a new drama series coming to ABC TV in Australia, produced by Werner Film Productions.
Set in the 1980s, the series unspools in a high energy newsroom, turning on the relationship between a young TV reporter and the show’s star female anchor. The cast features several high-profile actors including Anna Torv (“Mindhunter”), Sam Reid (“Lambs of God”), Robert Taylor (“Longmire”), Stephen Peacocke (“Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”), Chai Hansen (“The New Legends of Monkey”) and Marg Downey (“Fast Forward”).
“The Newsreader” is backed by major investments from Screen Australia and the ABC and financed with support from Film Victoria.
Series
Entertainment One (eOne) has acquired international distribution rights to “The Newsreader,” a new drama series coming to ABC TV in Australia, produced by Werner Film Productions.
Set in the 1980s, the series unspools in a high energy newsroom, turning on the relationship between a young TV reporter and the show’s star female anchor. The cast features several high-profile actors including Anna Torv (“Mindhunter”), Sam Reid (“Lambs of God”), Robert Taylor (“Longmire”), Stephen Peacocke (“Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”), Chai Hansen (“The New Legends of Monkey”) and Marg Downey (“Fast Forward”).
“The Newsreader” is backed by major investments from Screen Australia and the ABC and financed with support from Film Victoria.
- 11/25/2020
- by Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix could make Oscars history.
Netflix’s arsenal of content this year could give the streamer the most best picture nominations from any studio in history, a record held by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which scored five nods at the ninth Academy Awards in 1937. It may even net the streaming giant its first best picture win after falling short with the likes of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma.”
MGM achieved the feat when the Academy was nominating 10 films in the best picture category. “The Great Ziegfeld” was the big winner, taking home three statues. It was joined by other films released in 1936: “Libeled Lady,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “San Francisco” and “A Tale of Two Cities.” At the time, MGM was the undisputed heavyweight in Hollywood as the home to top talents such as Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn and many more. So...
Netflix’s arsenal of content this year could give the streamer the most best picture nominations from any studio in history, a record held by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which scored five nods at the ninth Academy Awards in 1937. It may even net the streaming giant its first best picture win after falling short with the likes of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma.”
MGM achieved the feat when the Academy was nominating 10 films in the best picture category. “The Great Ziegfeld” was the big winner, taking home three statues. It was joined by other films released in 1936: “Libeled Lady,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “San Francisco” and “A Tale of Two Cities.” At the time, MGM was the undisputed heavyweight in Hollywood as the home to top talents such as Shirley Temple, Clark Gable, Judy Garland, Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn and many more. So...
- 11/23/2020
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers and Trevor Noah poked fun at President Donald Trump’s growing inability to stick to his own very false script that he won the 2020 election on their respective late-night shows Monday, November 16th.
Over the weekend, after Georgia and Arizona became the final two states on the electoral map to be called, Trump got about a quarter of the way to conceding when he tweeted of Biden, “He won because the Election was Rigged.” Colbert cracked in turn, “You had me at, ‘He won.’ The rest...
Over the weekend, after Georgia and Arizona became the final two states on the electoral map to be called, Trump got about a quarter of the way to conceding when he tweeted of Biden, “He won because the Election was Rigged.” Colbert cracked in turn, “You had me at, ‘He won.’ The rest...
- 11/17/2020
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
With a new month quickly approaching, it’s time to look ahead and see what’s coming to all your favorite streaming services this November. That’s Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and, of course, HBO Max.
Halloween will soon be behind us and given that Christmas isn’t too far off, we’re beginning to see some holiday titles pop up, with all the major platforms getting into the festive spirit. That’ll continue in December as well, of course, but for November, there’s certainly tons on offer for those looking to start the celebrations early.
There’s a lot of other great stuff on the way, too, though, be it classic films, underrated gems, brand new releases and much more, and you can check out the entire lineup, sorted by date, down below. Ready to dive in?
November 1
Netflix
60 Days In: Season 5
A...
Halloween will soon be behind us and given that Christmas isn’t too far off, we’re beginning to see some holiday titles pop up, with all the major platforms getting into the festive spirit. That’ll continue in December as well, of course, but for November, there’s certainly tons on offer for those looking to start the celebrations early.
There’s a lot of other great stuff on the way, too, though, be it classic films, underrated gems, brand new releases and much more, and you can check out the entire lineup, sorted by date, down below. Ready to dive in?
November 1
Netflix
60 Days In: Season 5
A...
- 10/23/2020
- by Matt Joseph
- We Got This Covered
Jack Thorne, the prolific British writer behind HBO and BBC drama His Dark Materials, has said that he is receiving treatment for what he believes to be coronavirus.
The writer, whose other credits include Channel 4’s The Virtues and feature film The Aeronauts, said he has suffered from a high temperature, cough and exhaustion, which has aggravated his asthma. Thorne has been given a course of steroids and said his health is improving, but he remains out of sorts.
“Seem to have Covid, which is not reacting great with my asthma. Amazing treatment from my Gp over the phone, taking the time to give me...
The writer, whose other credits include Channel 4’s The Virtues and feature film The Aeronauts, said he has suffered from a high temperature, cough and exhaustion, which has aggravated his asthma. Thorne has been given a course of steroids and said his health is improving, but he remains out of sorts.
“Seem to have Covid, which is not reacting great with my asthma. Amazing treatment from my Gp over the phone, taking the time to give me...
- 4/1/2020
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Rome and Generation Kill executive producer Anne Thomopoulos is reuniting with her former HBO boss Chris Albrecht at Legendary Global.
Thomopoulos has joined the joint venture between Legendary and Albrecht as a partner, and comes from CAA’s Global Television department. She has been tasked with focusing on identifying and acquiring international content that Legendary Global can develop, produce and finance for local and global platforms.
Thomopoulos and Albrecht are reuniting after a successful run together at HBO, where Albrecht served as chairman and CEO and Thomopoulos created and oversaw the network’s dramatic series department. Kicking off with Oz, she first established HBO’s miniseries division with projects including From the Earth to the Moon, Band of Brothers and The Corner, before going on to exec produce Rome and Generation Kill.
She subsequently served as exec producer on Camelot for Starz, where she had a first-look producing deal.
Thomopoulos has joined the joint venture between Legendary and Albrecht as a partner, and comes from CAA’s Global Television department. She has been tasked with focusing on identifying and acquiring international content that Legendary Global can develop, produce and finance for local and global platforms.
Thomopoulos and Albrecht are reuniting after a successful run together at HBO, where Albrecht served as chairman and CEO and Thomopoulos created and oversaw the network’s dramatic series department. Kicking off with Oz, she first established HBO’s miniseries division with projects including From the Earth to the Moon, Band of Brothers and The Corner, before going on to exec produce Rome and Generation Kill.
She subsequently served as exec producer on Camelot for Starz, where she had a first-look producing deal.
- 3/3/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Two on a Guillotine
Blu ray
Warner Archives
1965/ 2:35:1 / 107 min.
Starring Connie Stevens, Dean Jones
Cinematography by Sam Leavitt
Directed by William Conrad
Imagine shock-meister William Castle directing a Disney movie and the result might be something like Two on a Guillotine. William Conrad, narrator of Rocky and Bullwinkle and star of television’s Cannon, is at the wheel of this thrill ride and he’s happy to rehash a few of Castle’s favorite scare tactics for his own purposes – the moans and groans of a carnival spook house and even a wire-drawn skeleton. There’s no denying Conrad’s effort has some of the Saturday matinee charm of creep shows like House on Haunted Hill but the sunny locales and aggressively perky demeanor of co-stars Connie Stevens and Dean Jones make you wish Frederick Loren would drop by with a well-aimed champagne cork.
Stevens is Cassie Duquesne,...
Blu ray
Warner Archives
1965/ 2:35:1 / 107 min.
Starring Connie Stevens, Dean Jones
Cinematography by Sam Leavitt
Directed by William Conrad
Imagine shock-meister William Castle directing a Disney movie and the result might be something like Two on a Guillotine. William Conrad, narrator of Rocky and Bullwinkle and star of television’s Cannon, is at the wheel of this thrill ride and he’s happy to rehash a few of Castle’s favorite scare tactics for his own purposes – the moans and groans of a carnival spook house and even a wire-drawn skeleton. There’s no denying Conrad’s effort has some of the Saturday matinee charm of creep shows like House on Haunted Hill but the sunny locales and aggressively perky demeanor of co-stars Connie Stevens and Dean Jones make you wish Frederick Loren would drop by with a well-aimed champagne cork.
Stevens is Cassie Duquesne,...
- 2/8/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Den of Geek Staff Feb 6, 2020
Upcoming celestial events, My Hero Academia, the science behind weighted blankets, and more in today's Link Tank!
There are a number of celestial events happening in February 2020 for nightsky enthusiasts!
"February is an exciting month for those who love to moon over the night sky. With the first Supermoon of the new year, a Snow Moon, and a game of hide and seek with Mars and the Moon, the night's sky is full of incredible happenings to mark this leap year. Inverse is your celestial guide for this month, with a breakdown of the five things to look out for up above."
Read more at Inverse.
The creator of My Hero Academia has apologized for naming a villain character after a Japanese war crime.
"My Hero Academia is one of the more popular manga and anime series right now. It takes place in an alternate...
Upcoming celestial events, My Hero Academia, the science behind weighted blankets, and more in today's Link Tank!
There are a number of celestial events happening in February 2020 for nightsky enthusiasts!
"February is an exciting month for those who love to moon over the night sky. With the first Supermoon of the new year, a Snow Moon, and a game of hide and seek with Mars and the Moon, the night's sky is full of incredible happenings to mark this leap year. Inverse is your celestial guide for this month, with a breakdown of the five things to look out for up above."
Read more at Inverse.
The creator of My Hero Academia has apologized for naming a villain character after a Japanese war crime.
"My Hero Academia is one of the more popular manga and anime series right now. It takes place in an alternate...
- 2/6/2020
- Den of Geek
Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is dropping the first in a series of Charles Dickens adaptations this Christmas with his reimagining of A Christmas Carol for FX and BBC One.
Knight is yet to decide on what Dickens story he will tackle next for Ridley Scott’s Scott Free London and Tom Hardy’s Hardy Son & Baker, but he offered some insight on his thinking at the premiere of A Christmas Carol last week.
The writer was asked during a Q+A following the screening what we can expect next from his Dickens box-set, and he suggested he might be considering a story that could be told over a longer number of episodes.
“With the advent of what’s happening in television, where you get eight hours of a returning series, it means now you’ve got the keys now to the door of the library,” Knight said.
He namedropped stories including David Copperfield,...
Knight is yet to decide on what Dickens story he will tackle next for Ridley Scott’s Scott Free London and Tom Hardy’s Hardy Son & Baker, but he offered some insight on his thinking at the premiere of A Christmas Carol last week.
The writer was asked during a Q+A following the screening what we can expect next from his Dickens box-set, and he suggested he might be considering a story that could be told over a longer number of episodes.
“With the advent of what’s happening in television, where you get eight hours of a returning series, it means now you’ve got the keys now to the door of the library,” Knight said.
He namedropped stories including David Copperfield,...
- 12/17/2019
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
In 2009 — when the Academy Awards went to 10 Best Picture nominees for the first time since 1943 — the preferential system of voting, which had been used from 1934 to 1945, was reintroduced. The academy did so as it believed this “best allows the collective judgment of all voting members to be most accurately represented.”
We have detailed how the preferential voting system works at the Oscars in the modern era. So, let’s take a look back at those dozen years early in the history of the academy when it first used this complicated counting to determine the Best Picture winner rather than a simple popular vote. (At the bottom of this post, be sure to vote for the film that you think will take the top Oscar this year.)
See Best Picture Gallery: Every winner of the top Academy Award
1934
This seventh ceremony marked the first time that the Oscars eligibility period was the calendar year.
We have detailed how the preferential voting system works at the Oscars in the modern era. So, let’s take a look back at those dozen years early in the history of the academy when it first used this complicated counting to determine the Best Picture winner rather than a simple popular vote. (At the bottom of this post, be sure to vote for the film that you think will take the top Oscar this year.)
See Best Picture Gallery: Every winner of the top Academy Award
1934
This seventh ceremony marked the first time that the Oscars eligibility period was the calendar year.
- 2/28/2018
- by Paul Sheehan
- Gold Derby
The creator of Peaky Blinders, Stephen Knight, is teaming up with Tom Hardy to develop a new BBC series. The show is based on the work of Charles Dickens and it will adapt his classic stories.
According to THR, the first season of the series will start with A Christmas Carol. The classic story of Ebenezer Scrooge will be told in three hourlong episodes and Ridley Scott's Scott Free London production company will be producing.
Hardy and Knight have previously worked together on the shows on the shows Taboo and Peaky Blinders, so you can bet we are going to get another quality series! I assume we are going to get a very different, dark, and stylized version of this story than anything we've ever seen before. I wonder if we'll see Hardy in the role of Scrooge because that would be amazing!
When talking about the show, Knight...
According to THR, the first season of the series will start with A Christmas Carol. The classic story of Ebenezer Scrooge will be told in three hourlong episodes and Ridley Scott's Scott Free London production company will be producing.
Hardy and Knight have previously worked together on the shows on the shows Taboo and Peaky Blinders, so you can bet we are going to get another quality series! I assume we are going to get a very different, dark, and stylized version of this story than anything we've ever seen before. I wonder if we'll see Hardy in the role of Scrooge because that would be amazing!
When talking about the show, Knight...
- 11/28/2017
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
Joseph Baxter Nov 29, 2017
Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight has been tapped by the BBC to oversee TV adaptations of several classic Charles Dickens novels...
It appears that the BBC has television plans of Dickensian proportions set for the near future. A series of small screen adaptations of the 19th century literary works of Charles Dickens are in the pipeline and the network has tapped Steven Knight, the mastermind behind the hit series Peaky Blinders, to head this ambitious initiative.
See related Gotham season 4 episode 9 review: Let Them Eat Pie Gotham season 4 episode 8 review: Stop Hitting Yourself Gotham season 4 episode 7 review: A Day In The Narrows
BBC controller of drama Piers Wenger has commissioned the series of Dickens TV adaptations, in which Steven Knight will work to create what is being called “a boxset of Dickens’s most iconic novels,” which will roll out in the next few years. Apropos to the holiday season,...
Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight has been tapped by the BBC to oversee TV adaptations of several classic Charles Dickens novels...
It appears that the BBC has television plans of Dickensian proportions set for the near future. A series of small screen adaptations of the 19th century literary works of Charles Dickens are in the pipeline and the network has tapped Steven Knight, the mastermind behind the hit series Peaky Blinders, to head this ambitious initiative.
See related Gotham season 4 episode 9 review: Let Them Eat Pie Gotham season 4 episode 8 review: Stop Hitting Yourself Gotham season 4 episode 7 review: A Day In The Narrows
BBC controller of drama Piers Wenger has commissioned the series of Dickens TV adaptations, in which Steven Knight will work to create what is being called “a boxset of Dickens’s most iconic novels,” which will roll out in the next few years. Apropos to the holiday season,...
- 11/28/2017
- Den of Geek
Paradise (Ray) Film Movement Director: Andrey Konchalovsky Written by: Andrey Konchalovsky, Elena Kiseleva Cast: Yuliya Vysotskaya, Peter Kurth, Viktor Sukhorukov, Philippe Duquesne, Thomas Darchinger Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 10/2/17 Opens: October 6, 2017 In the final paragraph of Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities,” Sidney Carton does a far, far better thing than […]
The post Paradise Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Paradise Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 10/4/2017
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
You only get one chance to grab a reader’s attention, so getting the first lines of a book right is one of the most important things an author must do. From George Orwell to Stephen King, great novels are filled with memorable opening lines — and here are a few of our favorites. Whether they set the scene with perfection or pull you into their world within a few words, all lay the foundations for what are extraordinary works of fiction. 1 A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens It was the best of times, it was the worst of times… A Tale of Two Cities was...read more...
- 9/20/2017
- by James Wray
- Monsters and Critics
David Crow Sep 27, 2017
David Simon's The Deuce arrived last night in the UK. Spoilers ahead in our Us chums' review of episode 1...
This review contains spoilers.
See related Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams episode 2 review: Impossible Planet Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams episode 2 review: Impossible Planet Visiting the set of Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams
1.1 The Pilot
The New York City of 1971, the New York City of The Deuce, is before my time. The days of fabled sleaze and seduction, vibrancy and violence, which piled onto the sidewalks like so many ripped garbage bags, have long passed… albeit, the garbage stacks remain. Even upon first visiting the Big Apple nearly 20 years ago, Giuliani Time was deep in the rearview, for better or worse. The crime rate is still way down, and you could walk through Times Square without being bombarded by trash, porno theaters, and rented...
David Simon's The Deuce arrived last night in the UK. Spoilers ahead in our Us chums' review of episode 1...
This review contains spoilers.
See related Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams episode 2 review: Impossible Planet Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams episode 2 review: Impossible Planet Visiting the set of Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams
1.1 The Pilot
The New York City of 1971, the New York City of The Deuce, is before my time. The days of fabled sleaze and seduction, vibrancy and violence, which piled onto the sidewalks like so many ripped garbage bags, have long passed… albeit, the garbage stacks remain. Even upon first visiting the Big Apple nearly 20 years ago, Giuliani Time was deep in the rearview, for better or worse. The crime rate is still way down, and you could walk through Times Square without being bombarded by trash, porno theaters, and rented...
- 9/11/2017
- Den of Geek
It’s hard to outdo the mix of humanity and tragedy in the conclusion of A Tale Of Two Cities, but David Simon and George Pelecanos sure try—and they put Sydney Carton’s trip to the guillotine in there to boot. Midway through the pilot of The Deuce, a prostitute and one of her regular clients watch the conclusion of…
Read more...
Read more...
- 9/11/2017
- by Erik Adams
- avclub.com
It Happened In Key West, a new musical written by Jill Santoriello Broadway's A Tale of Two Cities, Jason Huza and Jeremiah James, announces developmental lab for four performances only at the Fulton Opera House, 12 North Prince Street, Lancaster, Pa.
- 8/25/2017
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
It Happened In Key West, a new musical written by Jill Santoriello Broadway's A Tale of Two Cities, Jason Huza and Jeremiah James, announces developmental lab for four performances only at the Fulton Opera House, 12 North Prince Street, Lancaster, Pa.
- 8/11/2017
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Christopher Nolan loves a good easter egg. Whether it’s a sly bit of casting, the use of subliminal imagery, or a line of dialogue with deeper implications then you may realize, Nolan often hides clues and secret messages in his films that are just waiting to be discovered. Of course the internet has devoted a ton of time searching for Nolan’s best easter eggs over the years, and we’ve rounded up 7 of the best hidden gems to look for in his filmography.
Read More: ‘Dunkirk’ Review: Christopher Nolan’s Monumental War Epic Is The Best Film He’s Ever Made
Nolan is currently riding high off the success of “Dunkirk,” his WWII drama that exceeded expectations at the box office by opening to $50.5 million this weekend. The film should enjoy a healthy run thanks to strong word of mouth and critical acclaim. IndieWire named “Dunkirk” the best...
Read More: ‘Dunkirk’ Review: Christopher Nolan’s Monumental War Epic Is The Best Film He’s Ever Made
Nolan is currently riding high off the success of “Dunkirk,” his WWII drama that exceeded expectations at the box office by opening to $50.5 million this weekend. The film should enjoy a healthy run thanks to strong word of mouth and critical acclaim. IndieWire named “Dunkirk” the best...
- 7/24/2017
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Ronald Colman: Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month in two major 1930s classics Updated: Turner Classic Movies' July 2017 Star of the Month is Ronald Colman, one of the finest performers of the studio era. On Thursday night, TCM presented five Colman star vehicles that should be popping up again in the not-too-distant future: A Tale of Two Cities, The Prisoner of Zenda, Kismet, Lucky Partners, and My Life with Caroline. The first two movies are among not only Colman's best, but also among Hollywood's best during its so-called Golden Age. Based on Charles Dickens' classic novel, Jack Conway's Academy Award-nominated A Tale of Two Cities (1936) is a rare Hollywood production indeed: it manages to effectively condense its sprawling source, it boasts first-rate production values, and it features a phenomenal central performance. Ah, it also shows its star without his trademark mustache – about as famous at the time as Clark Gable's. Perhaps...
- 7/21/2017
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Looking back on this still-young century makes clear that 2007 was a major time for cinematic happenings — and, on the basis of this retrospective, one we’re not quite through with ten years on. One’s mind might quickly flash to a few big titles that will be represented, but it is the plurality of both festival and theatrical premieres that truly surprises: late works from old masters, debuts from filmmakers who’ve since become some of our most-respected artists, and mid-career turning points that didn’t necessarily announce themselves as such at the time. Join us as an assembled team, many of whom were coming of age that year, takes on their favorites.
For spanning half a century and six films to date, George A. Romero’s Dead series could reasonably be labeled the most ambitious single-auteur franchise in horror. Beginning with Night of the Living Dead’s release in...
For spanning half a century and six films to date, George A. Romero’s Dead series could reasonably be labeled the most ambitious single-auteur franchise in horror. Beginning with Night of the Living Dead’s release in...
- 2/14/2017
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
This years Locarno Film Festival will be dedicated to French filmmaker Jacques Tourneur (1904-1977), featuring a complete retrospective of this work.
Tourneur was the son of director Maurice Tourneur, a pioneer of French cinema. The family moved to the U.S. before the outbreak of World War I.
After the war, the younger Tourneur returned to France to launch his film career, but after four films went back to the States. After working on the second unit of David O. Selznick’s A Tale of Two Cities, he partnered with producer Val Lewton at Rko, collaborating on milestone films including Cat People (1942), The...
Tourneur was the son of director Maurice Tourneur, a pioneer of French cinema. The family moved to the U.S. before the outbreak of World War I.
After the war, the younger Tourneur returned to France to launch his film career, but after four films went back to the States. After working on the second unit of David O. Selznick’s A Tale of Two Cities, he partnered with producer Val Lewton at Rko, collaborating on milestone films including Cat People (1942), The...
- 1/19/2017
- by Ariston Anderson
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Wiseguys meet A Tale of Two Cities, sorta kinda, in the L.A.-set crime comedy Stevie D. Writer-director-star Chris Cordone’s highly uneven debut feature declares its budget constraints at every turn, along with its countless sources of inspiration, from Get Shorty to Pulp Fiction. As borrowed as it is, though, the high concept outshines the execution; it’s easy to see how a significantly slimmed-down and sharpened version of the overlong feature might have been a small-time contender.
Cordone’s smartest move is the casting of seasoned character actors, including Hal Linden, John Aprea and Kevin Chapman (of the series Person of Interest). Chapman...
Cordone’s smartest move is the casting of seasoned character actors, including Hal Linden, John Aprea and Kevin Chapman (of the series Person of Interest). Chapman...
- 12/7/2016
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Welcome back to a special ongoing look at Warner Bros. and how it's handled its DC Comics properties. It's going to be a weekly, ongoing miniseries here at Lrm.
It's suggested that you read the previous entries in the series, as they all build upon one another:
Column #1
Column #2
Column #3
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
- Charles Dickens, "A Tale of Two Cities"
In 2012, Warner Bros. found itself in a uniquely Dickensian situation. On the one hand, The Dark Knight Rises had just concluded the finest series of films based on their DC property since in 1989’s Batman. They were riding high, enjoying the glow of Christopher Nolan’s work in making high-minded, mature, and often fascinating movies out of comic book characters, while also enjoying the love of fans, critics, and paying customers alike. Yet on the other hand, there’s the...
It's suggested that you read the previous entries in the series, as they all build upon one another:
Column #1
Column #2
Column #3
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
- Charles Dickens, "A Tale of Two Cities"
In 2012, Warner Bros. found itself in a uniquely Dickensian situation. On the one hand, The Dark Knight Rises had just concluded the finest series of films based on their DC property since in 1989’s Batman. They were riding high, enjoying the glow of Christopher Nolan’s work in making high-minded, mature, and often fascinating movies out of comic book characters, while also enjoying the love of fans, critics, and paying customers alike. Yet on the other hand, there’s the...
- 11/21/2016
- by Mario-Francisco Robles
- LRMonline.com
“In the moonlight which is always sad, as the light of the sun itself is–as the light called human life is–at its coming and its going.” ― Charles Dickens,...
- 9/5/2016
- by Sasha Stone
- AwardsDaily.com
When Tony winner Laura Benanti appeared on the The Late Show back in May, host Stephen Colbert pointed out that the brunette beauty was a dead ringer for Melania Trump. So with the country buzzing about Trump's possibly plagiarized Republican National Convention speech, it made sense that Colbert called upon Benanti to step into the potential first lady's shoes, in a parody speech that opened his show on Tuesday night. Wearing the same white dress Trump wore in her speech, Benanti delivered a near-perfect impression of the Slovene-American model. She mocked the plagiarism scandal, claiming she wrote the speech herself...
- 7/20/2016
- by Dave Quinn, @NineDaves
- PEOPLE.com
When Tony winner Laura Benanti appeared on the The Late Show back in May, host Stephen Colbert pointed out that the brunette beauty was a dead ringer for Melania Trump.
So with the country buzzing about Trump's possibly plagiarized Republican National Convention speech, it made sense that Colbert called upon Benanti to step into the potential first lady's shoes, in a parody speech that opened his show on Tuesday night.
Wearing the same white dress Trump wore in her speech, Benanti delivered a near-perfect impression of the Slovene-American model. She mocked the plagiarism scandal, claiming she wrote the speech herself...
So with the country buzzing about Trump's possibly plagiarized Republican National Convention speech, it made sense that Colbert called upon Benanti to step into the potential first lady's shoes, in a parody speech that opened his show on Tuesday night.
Wearing the same white dress Trump wore in her speech, Benanti delivered a near-perfect impression of the Slovene-American model. She mocked the plagiarism scandal, claiming she wrote the speech herself...
- 7/20/2016
- by Dave Quinn, @NineDaves
- People.com - TV Watch
Val Lewton, Russian émigré turned horror master, was a reporter, pulp novelist and MGM publicity writer before moving into film. He spent the 1930s as David O. Selznick’s story editor, directing second unit work on A Tale of Two Cities (1935) and script doctoring Gone With the Wind (1939), warning Selznick it would be “the mistake of his life.” While not Hollywood’s most prescient man, Lewton’s professionalism earned Selznick’s respect, and their collaboration led to Rko offering Lewton a producing job in 1942.
Rko was reeling from Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons, an expensive flop forcing a refocus on low budget films. Charles Koerner headed the studio’s B Unit, envisioning a horror series inspired by Universal Studio’s successful franchises. Where Universal culled from established literature (Dracula, Frankenstein), Rko worked from Koerner’s whim: he created a title and left the filmmakers to handle trivia like plot and characters.
Rko was reeling from Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons, an expensive flop forcing a refocus on low budget films. Charles Koerner headed the studio’s B Unit, envisioning a horror series inspired by Universal Studio’s successful franchises. Where Universal culled from established literature (Dracula, Frankenstein), Rko worked from Koerner’s whim: he created a title and left the filmmakers to handle trivia like plot and characters.
- 10/6/2015
- by Christopher Saunders
- SoundOnSight
I warned you it was going to be different!
The Leftovers launched its second season Sunday with a new setting, an overhauled ensemble and a fresh Departure-related mystery. By the time the credits rolled on the hour-plus premiere, I had a million questions. I narrowed that number down to nine and promptly brought them to executive producer and co-creator Damon Lindelof. The resulting Q&A is below.
RelatedDamon Lindelof on How Fnl (and Not Twin Peaks) Inspired The Leftovers‘ Radical Season 2 Overhaul
Tvline | It takes a giant set of cojones to wait until 45 minutes into the premiere to re-introduce your main characters…...
The Leftovers launched its second season Sunday with a new setting, an overhauled ensemble and a fresh Departure-related mystery. By the time the credits rolled on the hour-plus premiere, I had a million questions. I narrowed that number down to nine and promptly brought them to executive producer and co-creator Damon Lindelof. The resulting Q&A is below.
RelatedDamon Lindelof on How Fnl (and Not Twin Peaks) Inspired The Leftovers‘ Radical Season 2 Overhaul
Tvline | It takes a giant set of cojones to wait until 45 minutes into the premiere to re-introduce your main characters…...
- 10/5/2015
- TVLine.com
Today in 2008, A Tale of Two Cities opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, where it ran for 60 performances. A Tale of Two Cities is a musical with book, music and lyrics by Jill Santoriello based on the novel of the same name by Charles Dickens.The Broadway production featured James Barbour, Natalie Toro, Aaron Lazar, Gregg Edelman, and Brandi Burkhardt.
- 9/18/2015
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Transport Group, the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Obie Award-winning theatre company,by special arrangement with Tony Award winning producerLarry Hirschhorn, will give a private developmental lab presentation of Benny amp Joon, a new musical. Based on the 1993 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture starring Aidan Quinn, Johnny Depp, and Mary Stuart Masterson, written by Barry Berman and Leslie McNeil, Benny amp Joon features a book by Kirsten Guenther Breaking Through, music by Nolan Gasser chief musicologist of pandora.com, and lyrics by Mindi Dickstein Little Women. Under the direction of Transport Group Artistic Director and five-time Drama Desk nominee Jack Cummings III, the cast features Andrew Samonsky as 'Benny' Queen of the Mist, Hannah Elless as 'Joon' Bright Star,Colin Hanlon Submissions Only, Mamie Parris See Rock City amp Other Destinations, Zak Resnick Piece of My Heart, Tally Sessions House of Blue Leaves, Natalie Toro A Tale of Two Cities, and...
- 9/17/2015
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Can you believe it? Mel Gibson's Braveheart premiered 20 years ago today in the Us, fast becoming a box office hit, a multi-Oscar winner and genuine pop culture phenomenon.
To celebrate the '90s classic's big birthday, we dive into Braveheart trivia to find out who nearly took on the role of William Wallace, the role originally earmarked for Sean Connery and which celebs count the Gibson flick among their all-time favourites.
1. Randall Wallace came up with the idea for the film while on holiday in Scotland in 1983. Visiting Edinburgh Castle, he asked a tour guide to tell him the story behind the statues of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. The guide did just that, and the rest is movie history!
2. Terry Gilliam turned down the chance to direct Braveheart after being offered the role while he was working with Gibson on an abandoned film version of A Tale of Two Cities.
To celebrate the '90s classic's big birthday, we dive into Braveheart trivia to find out who nearly took on the role of William Wallace, the role originally earmarked for Sean Connery and which celebs count the Gibson flick among their all-time favourites.
1. Randall Wallace came up with the idea for the film while on holiday in Scotland in 1983. Visiting Edinburgh Castle, he asked a tour guide to tell him the story behind the statues of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. The guide did just that, and the rest is movie history!
2. Terry Gilliam turned down the chance to direct Braveheart after being offered the role while he was working with Gibson on an abandoned film version of A Tale of Two Cities.
- 5/24/2015
- Digital Spy
The A Tale Of Two Cities songwriter is working on a new musical, It Happened In Key West, a dark love story based on the true account of Carl Von Cosel, an X-ray technician who attempted to cure a young Cuban patient and in the process fell in love with her, but after she died, he could not let go.
- 5/23/2015
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Clinton The Musical has found its Bills. Yes, Bills plural - it takes two actors to play the larger than life 42nd President of The United States. Playing President 'Wj' Clinton is Tom Galantich Tail Spin, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Duke Lafoon Monica The Musical, A Wonderful Life will take on the role of 'Billy' Clinton. Additional casting includesJohn Treacy Egan Nice Work if you Can Get It, Sister Act as Newt Gingrich, Veronica KuehnMamma Mia, Avenue Q as Monica Lewinsky, Kevin Zak Silence The Musical, My Life is a Musical as Kenneth Starr with Kara Guy National Tour Footloose, Dale Hensley La Cage aux Folles, The Drowsy Chaperone, Rob Richardson Jekyll amp Hyde, A Tale of Two Cities, and Gretchen WylderBedbugs, Til Divorce Do Us Part. They will join the previously announced Tony nominee, Kerry Butler as Hillary Clinton and Emmy Award winner, Judy Gold as Eleanor Roosevelt.Check...
- 3/10/2015
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Ritesh Batra, director of Indian hit The Lunchbox, is in advanced talks to direct an adaptation of award-winning novel The Sense of An Ending.
The film, based on Julian Barnes story of a retired man looking back on an old friendship, is in advanced development with UK production outfit Origin Pictures and is also backed by BBC Films.
The adaptation has been scripted by Nick Payne.
Origin boss David Thompson said of the project: “We’ve been overwhelmed by offers and we are going to be making that this year.”
Also on Origin’s Efm slate is crime drama Silencers, scripted by Matt Greenhalgh and billed as “a thrilling story of a unit of young policemen who combat gun crime”.
Also backed by BBC Films, the drama is likely to shoot this year, directed by Otto Bathurst (Peaky Blinders).
Meanwhile, Origin’s Charles Dickens’ adaptation A Tale Of Two Cities, scripted by [link...
The film, based on Julian Barnes story of a retired man looking back on an old friendship, is in advanced development with UK production outfit Origin Pictures and is also backed by BBC Films.
The adaptation has been scripted by Nick Payne.
Origin boss David Thompson said of the project: “We’ve been overwhelmed by offers and we are going to be making that this year.”
Also on Origin’s Efm slate is crime drama Silencers, scripted by Matt Greenhalgh and billed as “a thrilling story of a unit of young policemen who combat gun crime”.
Also backed by BBC Films, the drama is likely to shoot this year, directed by Otto Bathurst (Peaky Blinders).
Meanwhile, Origin’s Charles Dickens’ adaptation A Tale Of Two Cities, scripted by [link...
- 2/8/2015
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
Simone Simon in 'La Bête Humaine' 1938: Jean Renoir's film noir (photo: Jean Gabin and Simone Simon in 'La Bête Humaine') (See previous post: "'Cat People' 1942 Actress Simone Simon Remembered.") In the late 1930s, with her Hollywood career stalled while facing competition at 20th Century-Fox from another French import, Annabella (later Tyrone Power's wife), Simone Simon returned to France. Once there, she reestablished herself as an actress to be reckoned with in Jean Renoir's La Bête Humaine. An updated version of Émile Zola's 1890 novel, La Bête Humaine is enveloped in a dark, brooding atmosphere not uncommon in pre-World War II French films. Known for their "poetic realism," examples from that era include Renoir's own The Lower Depths (1936), Julien Duvivier's La Belle Équipe (1936) and Pépé le Moko (1937), and particularly Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows (1938) and Daybreak (1939).[11] This thematic and...
- 2/6/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Representing Latin American, U.S. Latino, and non-Latino artists who explore multicultural relationships from singular perspectives, the films at this year's Sundance Film Festival include an array of stories that showcase the diverse creative voices that exist within the Latino filmmaking community.
This list includes both films that have been created fully or partially by Latin American or U.S. Latino filmmakers, as well as those that deal with themes and ideas relevant to the Latino experience in or outside the Unites States, even if these were not created by Latino artists. The increasing interest in these stories testifies to how rapidly Latinos are becoming constant and strong voices in all areas of the film industry.
In order to highlight as many of these talented creators and films as possible, we’ve created a list that includes all the films at the festival that are helmed by or that incorporate Latino talent and those that focus on a specific aspect pertinent to the Latino community. Some are obvious standouts like Argentina's acclaimed dark comedy "Wild Tales" or Colombia's "Liveforever" from Carlos Moreno.
Then there are those who at first sight might not fit the parameters of what one could think is a Latino film. This is the case of films like Eli Roth's "Knock Knock," which is an English-language horror film whose co-writers, producers, and part of the cast are originally from Chile. There is also " Aloft," a drama in the Spotlight section, which is set between Canada and Minnesota and stars Jennifer Connelly. It was written and directed by Academy Award nominated Peruvian filmmaker Claudia Llosa.
The third case includes those films that deal with subjects that have Latino elements or that explore diversity in the U.S in some way. Examples of these are "The Strongest Man" from Kenny Riches, a film narrated in Spanish by its protagonist "Beef," a charming, yet lost Cuban-American man in Miami; or "Cartel Land" by Matthew Heineman, which focuses on the violence shared between Mexico and U.S due to the drug-fueled chaos that afflicts the region. On a lighter note, there are films like “City of Gold” by Laura Gabbert, in which Los Angeles is seen through its ethnic food and local idiosyncrasies.
In an effort to give exposure to those films in the program that don’t get as much attention, the list below starts with the Shorts Programs and ends with the Dramatic Premieres. Each title is linked to its page on the Sundance website where screening times and locations can be found. Regardless of what films you watch at the festival, it is likely that your eyes will be expose to the work of some amazingly talented Latino filmmaker, writer or actor, or those who appreciate our stories as much as we do.
Shorts
"Spring" (Primavera) - Shorts Program 2
Latino Talent: Dir. Tania Claudia Castillo
Latino Theme: The short was created theough Mexico's renowned Centro de Capacitacion Cinematografica (Ccc), and it focuses on
Elba, an introverted, lonely 14-year-old, who wants to bond with her sister Fernanda before she leaves home.
"Papa Machete" - Shorts Program 3
Latino Theme: Two hundred years ago, Haitian slaves defeated Napoleon's armies with the same tool used to work the land: the machete. "Papa Machete" explores a martial art evolved from this victory through the practice of one of its few remaining masters.
"Making it in America" - Shorts Program 4
Latino Theme: A Salvadoran immigrant who fled to the United States as a teenager is now a single mother striving to build a future for her family in Los Angeles.
"Stop" - Shorts Program 5
Latino Talent: Dir. Reinaldo Marcus Green, Producer Rashaad Ernesto Green, Cinematographer Federico Cesca, Actors J.W. Cortes and Joshua Rivera.
Latino Theme: A young man's livelihood is put to the test when he is stopped by the police on his way home. Although not specific the Latino experience, the subject matter speaks to recent events involving minority groups and the use of excessive force by police
"Palm Rot" - Animation Spotlight
Latino Talent: Dir. Ryan Gillis Lizama
Latino Theme: An old Florida fumigator discovers a mysterious crate in the Everglades that ruins his day.
"The Sun Like a Big Dark Animal" (El Sol Como un Gran Animal Oscuro) - Animation Spotlight
Latino Talent: Directors Ronnie Rivera and Christina Felisgrau, Screenwriter Bernardo Britto, Producer Lucas Leyva
Latino Theme: This is Spanish-language short about a computer and a woman fall in love, only to be torn apart because of their inappropriate feelings for each other.
"{The And} Marcela & Rock" - Documentary Shorts Program 1
Latino Talent: Dir. Topaz Adizes, Assistant Directors Armando Croda and Sebastian Diaz
Latino Theme: Exploring the intimate spaces of modern-day relationships, this is the best couples therapy session you'll ever witness.
Special Events
Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge
Latino Talent: Directors Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal, Marialy Rivas
Latino Theme: Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge presents five winning narrative and documentary short films selected from 1,387 submissions representing 69 different countries.The project was designed to use the transformative power of storytelling to generate discussion, shift perceptions around extreme hunger and poverty, and harness the power of independent film to create a global conversation about these issues.
Sundance Kids
"The Game Maker" (El Inventor de Juegos)
Latino Talent: Dir. Juan Pablo Buscarini
New Frontier
"Liveforever" (Que Viva la Musica)
Latino Talent: Dir. Carlos Moreno, Screenwriters Alberto Ferreras and Alonso Torres, alongside the crew and cast.
Latino Theme: Hovering over the river that segregates Cali, Colombia, into haves and have-nots, a haunting presence identifies a perilous willingness among the populace to do anything that is asked of it. A blonde teenage girl, knowing she must change her life, leaves her well-appointed house and flagrantly gives herself over to this tolerant city, saying "yes" to everything provocative it offers her. Only the music tethers her body and spirit together, even as she reaches for redemption through a bold, delicious, and resplendent self-destruction. Inspired by the 1977 best-selling cult novel by Andres Caicedo.
Park City Midnight
"Knock Knock"
Latino Talent: Screenwriters Guillermo Amoedo & Nicolás López, Producers Miguel Asensio and Nicolás López, Cinematographer Antonio Quercia, Actresses Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas
"Reversal"
Latino Talent: Dir. José Manuel Cravioto, Producers Alex Garcia, Rodolfo Marquez and Daniel Posada, Editor Jorge Macaya, Actress Bianca Malinowski
Spotlight
"Aloft"
Latino Talent: Dir. Claudia Llosa
"Wild Tales" (Relatos Salvajes)
Latino Talent: Dir. Damián Szifrón, as well as most of the cast and crew.
Latino Theme: Nominated for the Best Foreign Language Academy Award, this Argentine marvel is conformed of 6 stories about people giving in to their most savage instincts. Forgiveness is out o the question because revenge has never been so deranged and insanely comedic.
Next <=>
"H."
Latino Talent: Dir. Daniel Garcia
"Nasty Baby"
Latino Talent: Dir. Sebastián Silva, Producers David Hinojosa, Juan de Dios Larraín and Pablo Larraín
Latino Theme: Brooklyn artist Freddy (Sebastian Silva) is baby obsessed. His new project centers around newborns, and he and his boyfriend, Mo, have recruited their best friend, Polly (Kristen Wiig), to help them have a baby. On top of dealing with the stress of opening an art installation and the complications of conceiving a child via artificial insemination, the three begin to be harassed by The Bishop, a mentally ill neighborhood man. An escalating series of incidents threaten to derail the comfortable lives these people have built for themselves.
"Tangerine"
Latino Talent: Actress Kiki Kitana Rodriguez
Latino Theme: It's Christmas Eve in Tinseltown, and Sin-Dee is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend hasn't been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra, embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles, including an Armenian family dealing with their own repercussions of infidelity.
"The Strongest Man"
Latino Talent: Actor Robert Lorie
Latino Theme: Beef is a beefy Cuban man who believes that he is The Strongest Man in the World. He doesn’t want children, but he wants to tell his grandchildren about his life as The Strongest Man in the World. His best friend is a slight Korean man named Conan. Conan makes him think about things he normally doesn’t think, like the fact that Beef thinks in Spanish, rather than English. Illy, the adopted daughter of a rich art collector, brings out an anxious side in Beef. But it is when his prized possession—a solid gold BMX bicycle—is stolen from him that Beef finds and loses so much more than he thought he could.
World Dramatic Competition
"The Second Mother"
Latino Talent: Dir. Anna Muylaert and her cast and crew
Latino Theme: Val is the kind of live-in housekeeper who takes her work seriously. She wears a crisp maid's uniform while serving perfect canapés; she serves her wealthy São Paulo employers day in and day out while lovingly nannying their teenage son whom she's raised since toddlerhood. Everyone and everything in the elegant house has its place until one day, Val’s ambitious, clever daughter Jessica arrives from Val’s hometown to take the college entrance exams. Jessica’s confident, youthful presence upsets the unspoken yet strict balance of power in the household; Val must decide where her allegiances lie and what she's willing to sacrifice.
U.S. Documentary Competition
"Cartel Land"
Latino Theme: In the Mexican state of Michoacán, Dr. Jose Mireles, a small-town physician known as "El Doctor," shepherds a citizen uprising against the Knights Templar, the violent drug cartel that has wreaked havoc on the region for years. Meanwhile, in Arizona's Altar Valley—a narrow, 52-mile-long desert corridor known as Cocaine Alley—Tim "Nailer" Foley, an American veteran, heads a small paramilitary group called Arizona Border Recon, whose goal is to halt Mexico’s drug wars from seeping across our border.
"City of Gold"
Latino Theme: As the unabashed cradle of Hollywood superficiality and smoggy urban sprawl, Los Angeles has long been condemned as a cultural wasteland. In the richly penetrating documentary odyssey City of Gold, Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold shows us another Los Angeles, where ethnic cooking is a kaleidoscopic portal to the mysteries of an unwieldy city and the soul of America.
"Western"
Latino Theme: In his classic novel A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens famously wrote "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." That line sums up the story ofWestern, the latest film from Bill and Turner Ross, a documentary destined to become a classic itself. Eagle Pass, Texas, and Piedras Negras, Mexico, two towns on opposite sides of the border have shared a harmonious history until the specter of cartel violence threatens to divide them.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
"Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"
Latino Talent: Dir. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
"Dope"
Latino Talent: Actors Tony Revolori, Michael Flores, Allen Maldonado, Lidia Porto, and Sergio Garcia
Latino Theme: Malcolm is a high school geek with a high-top fade, carefully navigating life in The Bottoms, one of the toughest neighborhoods in Inglewood, California. He and his fellow outcasts share a voracious appreciation for all things '90s hip-hop, opting to sport Cross-Colours and Z. Cavariccis at the risk of being clowned at school. He dreams of attending Harvard, but first he has to make it home every day. When a drug dealer takes a shine to Malcolm and invites him to his birthday party, Malcolm’s crew is swirled into a hilarious blender of offbeat characters and bad choices where redemption can only be found in Bitcoin.
"The Stanford Prison Experiment"
Latino Talent: Dir. Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Actors Moises Arias and Armand Vasquez
Documentary Premieres
"Fresh Dressed"
Latino Theme: With funky, fat-laced Adidas, Kangol hats, and Cazal shades, a totally original look was born—Fresh—and it came from the black and brown side of town where another cultural force was revving up in the streets to take the world by storm. Hip-hop, and its aspirational relationship to fashion, would become such a force on the market that Tommy Hilfiger, in an effort to associate their brand with the cultural swell, would drive through the streets and hand out free clothing to kids on the corner.
Dramatic Premieres
"Experimenter"
Latino Talent: Dir. Michael Almereyda and Actor John Leguizamo
"Last Days in the Desert"
Latino Talent: Dir. Rodrigo García and Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki
"Lila & Eve"
Latino Talent: Producers Tanya Lopez and Priscilla Porianda, Actors Jennifer Lopez, Andre Royo, Marisela Zumbado and Rey Hernandez
Latino Theme: When teenage Stephon is killed in a drive-by shooting, his mother, Lila, slips into a paralyzing grief. She joins a support group for women who have lost children to crime and meets Eve, a woman whose little girl was killed the same night as Stephon. Lila and Eve form a friendship, and Lila begins to crawl out of her depression. She develops a burning desire to find justice for her son, and she presses the authorities for answers, but they are slow-moving and ineffective. It’s Eve who has the idea first—join together, find the drug dealers who shot Stephon dead, and bring them to justice themselves.
This list includes both films that have been created fully or partially by Latin American or U.S. Latino filmmakers, as well as those that deal with themes and ideas relevant to the Latino experience in or outside the Unites States, even if these were not created by Latino artists. The increasing interest in these stories testifies to how rapidly Latinos are becoming constant and strong voices in all areas of the film industry.
In order to highlight as many of these talented creators and films as possible, we’ve created a list that includes all the films at the festival that are helmed by or that incorporate Latino talent and those that focus on a specific aspect pertinent to the Latino community. Some are obvious standouts like Argentina's acclaimed dark comedy "Wild Tales" or Colombia's "Liveforever" from Carlos Moreno.
Then there are those who at first sight might not fit the parameters of what one could think is a Latino film. This is the case of films like Eli Roth's "Knock Knock," which is an English-language horror film whose co-writers, producers, and part of the cast are originally from Chile. There is also " Aloft," a drama in the Spotlight section, which is set between Canada and Minnesota and stars Jennifer Connelly. It was written and directed by Academy Award nominated Peruvian filmmaker Claudia Llosa.
The third case includes those films that deal with subjects that have Latino elements or that explore diversity in the U.S in some way. Examples of these are "The Strongest Man" from Kenny Riches, a film narrated in Spanish by its protagonist "Beef," a charming, yet lost Cuban-American man in Miami; or "Cartel Land" by Matthew Heineman, which focuses on the violence shared between Mexico and U.S due to the drug-fueled chaos that afflicts the region. On a lighter note, there are films like “City of Gold” by Laura Gabbert, in which Los Angeles is seen through its ethnic food and local idiosyncrasies.
In an effort to give exposure to those films in the program that don’t get as much attention, the list below starts with the Shorts Programs and ends with the Dramatic Premieres. Each title is linked to its page on the Sundance website where screening times and locations can be found. Regardless of what films you watch at the festival, it is likely that your eyes will be expose to the work of some amazingly talented Latino filmmaker, writer or actor, or those who appreciate our stories as much as we do.
Shorts
"Spring" (Primavera) - Shorts Program 2
Latino Talent: Dir. Tania Claudia Castillo
Latino Theme: The short was created theough Mexico's renowned Centro de Capacitacion Cinematografica (Ccc), and it focuses on
Elba, an introverted, lonely 14-year-old, who wants to bond with her sister Fernanda before she leaves home.
"Papa Machete" - Shorts Program 3
Latino Theme: Two hundred years ago, Haitian slaves defeated Napoleon's armies with the same tool used to work the land: the machete. "Papa Machete" explores a martial art evolved from this victory through the practice of one of its few remaining masters.
"Making it in America" - Shorts Program 4
Latino Theme: A Salvadoran immigrant who fled to the United States as a teenager is now a single mother striving to build a future for her family in Los Angeles.
"Stop" - Shorts Program 5
Latino Talent: Dir. Reinaldo Marcus Green, Producer Rashaad Ernesto Green, Cinematographer Federico Cesca, Actors J.W. Cortes and Joshua Rivera.
Latino Theme: A young man's livelihood is put to the test when he is stopped by the police on his way home. Although not specific the Latino experience, the subject matter speaks to recent events involving minority groups and the use of excessive force by police
"Palm Rot" - Animation Spotlight
Latino Talent: Dir. Ryan Gillis Lizama
Latino Theme: An old Florida fumigator discovers a mysterious crate in the Everglades that ruins his day.
"The Sun Like a Big Dark Animal" (El Sol Como un Gran Animal Oscuro) - Animation Spotlight
Latino Talent: Directors Ronnie Rivera and Christina Felisgrau, Screenwriter Bernardo Britto, Producer Lucas Leyva
Latino Theme: This is Spanish-language short about a computer and a woman fall in love, only to be torn apart because of their inappropriate feelings for each other.
"{The And} Marcela & Rock" - Documentary Shorts Program 1
Latino Talent: Dir. Topaz Adizes, Assistant Directors Armando Croda and Sebastian Diaz
Latino Theme: Exploring the intimate spaces of modern-day relationships, this is the best couples therapy session you'll ever witness.
Special Events
Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge
Latino Talent: Directors Diego Luna, Gael García Bernal, Marialy Rivas
Latino Theme: Sundance Institute Short Film Challenge presents five winning narrative and documentary short films selected from 1,387 submissions representing 69 different countries.The project was designed to use the transformative power of storytelling to generate discussion, shift perceptions around extreme hunger and poverty, and harness the power of independent film to create a global conversation about these issues.
Sundance Kids
"The Game Maker" (El Inventor de Juegos)
Latino Talent: Dir. Juan Pablo Buscarini
New Frontier
"Liveforever" (Que Viva la Musica)
Latino Talent: Dir. Carlos Moreno, Screenwriters Alberto Ferreras and Alonso Torres, alongside the crew and cast.
Latino Theme: Hovering over the river that segregates Cali, Colombia, into haves and have-nots, a haunting presence identifies a perilous willingness among the populace to do anything that is asked of it. A blonde teenage girl, knowing she must change her life, leaves her well-appointed house and flagrantly gives herself over to this tolerant city, saying "yes" to everything provocative it offers her. Only the music tethers her body and spirit together, even as she reaches for redemption through a bold, delicious, and resplendent self-destruction. Inspired by the 1977 best-selling cult novel by Andres Caicedo.
Park City Midnight
"Knock Knock"
Latino Talent: Screenwriters Guillermo Amoedo & Nicolás López, Producers Miguel Asensio and Nicolás López, Cinematographer Antonio Quercia, Actresses Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas
"Reversal"
Latino Talent: Dir. José Manuel Cravioto, Producers Alex Garcia, Rodolfo Marquez and Daniel Posada, Editor Jorge Macaya, Actress Bianca Malinowski
Spotlight
"Aloft"
Latino Talent: Dir. Claudia Llosa
"Wild Tales" (Relatos Salvajes)
Latino Talent: Dir. Damián Szifrón, as well as most of the cast and crew.
Latino Theme: Nominated for the Best Foreign Language Academy Award, this Argentine marvel is conformed of 6 stories about people giving in to their most savage instincts. Forgiveness is out o the question because revenge has never been so deranged and insanely comedic.
Next <=>
"H."
Latino Talent: Dir. Daniel Garcia
"Nasty Baby"
Latino Talent: Dir. Sebastián Silva, Producers David Hinojosa, Juan de Dios Larraín and Pablo Larraín
Latino Theme: Brooklyn artist Freddy (Sebastian Silva) is baby obsessed. His new project centers around newborns, and he and his boyfriend, Mo, have recruited their best friend, Polly (Kristen Wiig), to help them have a baby. On top of dealing with the stress of opening an art installation and the complications of conceiving a child via artificial insemination, the three begin to be harassed by The Bishop, a mentally ill neighborhood man. An escalating series of incidents threaten to derail the comfortable lives these people have built for themselves.
"Tangerine"
Latino Talent: Actress Kiki Kitana Rodriguez
Latino Theme: It's Christmas Eve in Tinseltown, and Sin-Dee is back on the block. Upon hearing that her pimp boyfriend hasn't been faithful during the 28 days she was locked up, the working girl and her best friend, Alexandra, embark on a mission to get to the bottom of the scandalous rumor. Their rip-roaring odyssey leads them through various subcultures of Los Angeles, including an Armenian family dealing with their own repercussions of infidelity.
"The Strongest Man"
Latino Talent: Actor Robert Lorie
Latino Theme: Beef is a beefy Cuban man who believes that he is The Strongest Man in the World. He doesn’t want children, but he wants to tell his grandchildren about his life as The Strongest Man in the World. His best friend is a slight Korean man named Conan. Conan makes him think about things he normally doesn’t think, like the fact that Beef thinks in Spanish, rather than English. Illy, the adopted daughter of a rich art collector, brings out an anxious side in Beef. But it is when his prized possession—a solid gold BMX bicycle—is stolen from him that Beef finds and loses so much more than he thought he could.
World Dramatic Competition
"The Second Mother"
Latino Talent: Dir. Anna Muylaert and her cast and crew
Latino Theme: Val is the kind of live-in housekeeper who takes her work seriously. She wears a crisp maid's uniform while serving perfect canapés; she serves her wealthy São Paulo employers day in and day out while lovingly nannying their teenage son whom she's raised since toddlerhood. Everyone and everything in the elegant house has its place until one day, Val’s ambitious, clever daughter Jessica arrives from Val’s hometown to take the college entrance exams. Jessica’s confident, youthful presence upsets the unspoken yet strict balance of power in the household; Val must decide where her allegiances lie and what she's willing to sacrifice.
U.S. Documentary Competition
"Cartel Land"
Latino Theme: In the Mexican state of Michoacán, Dr. Jose Mireles, a small-town physician known as "El Doctor," shepherds a citizen uprising against the Knights Templar, the violent drug cartel that has wreaked havoc on the region for years. Meanwhile, in Arizona's Altar Valley—a narrow, 52-mile-long desert corridor known as Cocaine Alley—Tim "Nailer" Foley, an American veteran, heads a small paramilitary group called Arizona Border Recon, whose goal is to halt Mexico’s drug wars from seeping across our border.
"City of Gold"
Latino Theme: As the unabashed cradle of Hollywood superficiality and smoggy urban sprawl, Los Angeles has long been condemned as a cultural wasteland. In the richly penetrating documentary odyssey City of Gold, Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic Jonathan Gold shows us another Los Angeles, where ethnic cooking is a kaleidoscopic portal to the mysteries of an unwieldy city and the soul of America.
"Western"
Latino Theme: In his classic novel A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens famously wrote "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." That line sums up the story ofWestern, the latest film from Bill and Turner Ross, a documentary destined to become a classic itself. Eagle Pass, Texas, and Piedras Negras, Mexico, two towns on opposite sides of the border have shared a harmonious history until the specter of cartel violence threatens to divide them.
U.S. Dramatic Competition
"Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"
Latino Talent: Dir. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
"Dope"
Latino Talent: Actors Tony Revolori, Michael Flores, Allen Maldonado, Lidia Porto, and Sergio Garcia
Latino Theme: Malcolm is a high school geek with a high-top fade, carefully navigating life in The Bottoms, one of the toughest neighborhoods in Inglewood, California. He and his fellow outcasts share a voracious appreciation for all things '90s hip-hop, opting to sport Cross-Colours and Z. Cavariccis at the risk of being clowned at school. He dreams of attending Harvard, but first he has to make it home every day. When a drug dealer takes a shine to Malcolm and invites him to his birthday party, Malcolm’s crew is swirled into a hilarious blender of offbeat characters and bad choices where redemption can only be found in Bitcoin.
"The Stanford Prison Experiment"
Latino Talent: Dir. Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Actors Moises Arias and Armand Vasquez
Documentary Premieres
"Fresh Dressed"
Latino Theme: With funky, fat-laced Adidas, Kangol hats, and Cazal shades, a totally original look was born—Fresh—and it came from the black and brown side of town where another cultural force was revving up in the streets to take the world by storm. Hip-hop, and its aspirational relationship to fashion, would become such a force on the market that Tommy Hilfiger, in an effort to associate their brand with the cultural swell, would drive through the streets and hand out free clothing to kids on the corner.
Dramatic Premieres
"Experimenter"
Latino Talent: Dir. Michael Almereyda and Actor John Leguizamo
"Last Days in the Desert"
Latino Talent: Dir. Rodrigo García and Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki
"Lila & Eve"
Latino Talent: Producers Tanya Lopez and Priscilla Porianda, Actors Jennifer Lopez, Andre Royo, Marisela Zumbado and Rey Hernandez
Latino Theme: When teenage Stephon is killed in a drive-by shooting, his mother, Lila, slips into a paralyzing grief. She joins a support group for women who have lost children to crime and meets Eve, a woman whose little girl was killed the same night as Stephon. Lila and Eve form a friendship, and Lila begins to crawl out of her depression. She develops a burning desire to find justice for her son, and she presses the authorities for answers, but they are slow-moving and ineffective. It’s Eve who has the idea first—join together, find the drug dealers who shot Stephon dead, and bring them to justice themselves.
- 1/21/2015
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
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