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Watch: Full Trailer For Barry Levinson's 'The Humbling' Starring Al Pacino & Greta Gerwig
36 minutes ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
Al Pacino seems to be heading for something of a comeback this year: after years of taking films and roles that seem well below his talents, the actor's been lining up several intriguing prospects: David Gordon Green's "Manglehorn" just premiered at Venice with a Pacino turn that our review called one of his best ever, and intriguing comedy "Imagine" is lined up for 2015. In between, Pacino was also in Venice for "The Humbling," Barry Levinson's adaptation of Phillip Roth's novel, about a Broadway star who romances a much young lesbian (Greta Gerwig). Our reviewer Jessica Kiang was decidedly unimpressed a few days back, but you can get a glimpse of the film for yourself, as a trailer just debuted over at Deadline. The film's clearly a passion project for Pacino, who bought the rights to the project himself, and if nothing else, it should be fun to »
- Oliver Lyttelton
Robert Downey Jr Joins Chorus Calling For 'Black Widow' Solo Movie (And Hulk & Hawkeye Too)
1 hour ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
One of the big narratives in terms of superhero movies over the summer has been the lack of women-led movies in the genre: despite the success of everything that Marvel does, Kevin Feige has remained non-committal in terms of the studio putting out a film with a female lead, while DC Comics have cast Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in "Batman Vs. Superman" but don't appear to have made any strides forward in terms of giving her her own solo movie. And a backlash is starting to form: Jessica Chastain, being as awesome as she is, spoke up in favor of Scarlett Johansson (who had a monster hit with "Lucy" this summer) getting her own Marvel movie in the last week, and now one of Johansson's co-stars has weighed in, with Robert Downey Jr, the figurehead of the Marvel movies, also speaking up in favor of a solo "Black Widow" film. »
- Oliver Lyttelton
What the Delay of 'How to Train Your Dragon 3' Says About the Larger State of DreamWorks Animation
1 hour ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
Yesterday, it was announced that DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon 3," the latest installment of animated fantasy films loosely based on a series of novels by Cressida Cowell, would be pushed back a full year, to June 9th, 2017. From the outset, the move looked simple enough: not only would it give the filmmakers more time to hone the story (something that the sequel, released this past summer, could have definitely used) but it would also get it the fuck out of the way of Pixar's sea-set sequel "Finding Dory," which also opens in the summer of 2016 and will probably rake in more money than anyone can count. But it also speaks to the larger issue of DreamWorks Animation, formerly a chief competitor to Disney and Pixar that churned out blockbuster franchise after blockbuster franchise but now seems to be creative and financial disarray. Maybe DreamWorks' current position isn't »
- Drew Taylor
Venice Review: Ami Canaan Mann’s 'Jackie & Ryan' Starring Katherine Heigl And Ben Barnes
2 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
Perhaps stung by the middling-to-poor reviews for her last film “Texas Killing Fields,” director Ami Canaan Mann (daughter of Michael) returns to screens under cover of absolute directorial anonymity with “Jackie & Ryan,” a movie hamstrung in its attempts to be a “Crazy Heart” or even “Country Strong”-ish vehicle for Katherine Heigl by being more bland than a mashed potato dinner. It’s a strangely old-fashioned film, yielding a big enough crop of corn to revive the entire Midwestern economy, putting forth a dubiously romanticized view of the philosophical beauty of the train-hopping lifestyle. And while Ben Barnes does the film's decent music great justice with his surprisingly lovely singing voice, that’s really the only authentic feeling thing therein. “Jackie & Ryan" is supposedly all about learning how to git where ya gotta go, but none of the characters start or end in particularly interesting places, and the journey is »
- Jessica Kiang
Daily | Venice + Toronto 2014 | Hong Sang-soo’s Hill Of Freedom
2 hours ago | Keyframe | See recent Keyframe news »
The latest film by Hong Sang-soo is premiering in Venice and will screen in Toronto's Masters program. Writing for Cinema Scope, Michael Sicinski notes that it's "about 85% in English. Building, however inadvertently, on the relative success of In Another Country (2012), his bilingual collaboration with Isabelle Huppert, Hill of Freedom again finds Hong exploring his favored themes and engaging in the structured dislocation that defines his aesthetic…. Not without reason are Hong’s films frequently compared with Rohmer, but with Hill of Freedom he displays a subtle kinship with Resnais. It’s one of his best films to date, and demonstrates that Hong’s jaundiced vision of Korean culture—soju rituals and awkward passive-aggression, intellectual self-absorption and a condescending attitude toward women—can transcend the specificities of language." » - David Hudson »
Daily | Andrew V. McLaglen, 1920 – 2014
2 hours ago | Keyframe | See recent Keyframe news »
Andrew V. McLaglen has passed away at his home in the San Juan Islands. He was 94. Wheeler Winston Dixon in Senses of Cinema: "Coming of age when his father, the gifted actor Victor McLaglen, won an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in John Ford’s The Informer (1935), young Andrew worked and lived with the cream of Hollywood’s most original and idiosyncratic artists. In addition to John Ford, he knew and/or worked with John Wayne, William Wellman, Budd Boetticher and Cary Grant, and later carved out a career for himself as a director in the Western genre that few can equal." » - David Hudson »
Dwayne Johnson Confirms He's Playing Villain Black Adam In DC Comics Movie 'Shazam'
2 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
After months of cryptic social media teasing, it looks like Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) is ready to reveal his role in the emerging DC Cinematic Universe. The star (fresh off the disappointing box-office performance of "Hercules") has for some time suggested that he's been in talks with Warner Bros to play a role in one of their upcoming movies, leading to speculation that he'd be cast in roles ranging from a villain in "Batman V. Superman" to Aquaman. But it hasn't been long since Johnson basically spilled the beans that he'd be appearing in the studio's take on the classic character 'Shazam" (previously known as Captain Marvel), but wouldn't reveal whether he was playing the title character (a young boy named Billy Batson, who after speaking that magic word turns into a hero with the powers of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury), or his arch-nemesis Black Adam. »
- Oliver Lyttelton
Daily | London 2014 Lineup
2 hours ago | Keyframe | See recent Keyframe news »
The 58th BFI London Film Festival, running from October 8 through 19, has posted its full program. Opening with Morten Tyldum's The Imitation Game and closing with David Ayer's Fury, the festival's galas include Mike Leigh's Mr. Turner and James Kent's Testament of Youth. Among the films lined up for the various competitions are Ana Lily Amirpour's A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Christian Petzold's Phoenix, Céline Sciamma's Girlhood, Peter Strickland's The Duke of Burgundy, and of course, many more. All in all: 245 features and 148 shorts. » - David Hudson »
Watch: New Trailer For 'Escobar: Paradise Lost' Starring Josh Hutcherson & Benicio Del Toro
3 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
One of the more unlikely face-offs of 2014 comes in the form of the conflict between pint-sized "Hunger Games" star Josh Hutcherson and Oscar-winning acting legend Benicio Del Toro as the world's most famous drug lord. The battle in question comes in Andrea Di Stefano's "Escobar: Paradise Lost," which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival over the weekend, which will be followed by a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in the next few days. The film sees Hutcherson playing a young student who travels to Colombia and falls in love with a local girl, only to discover that her uncle is the notorious cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar (Del Toro, in the role he was seemingly born to play). The film received only so-so reviews from critics in the mountains this past weekend (including ours), but a new trailer has arrived, and it looks pretty solid to us. Drawing »
- Oliver Lyttelton
Exclusive: 3 Teasers Posters And Clip From Wild & Raw 'Wetlands'
3 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
There are dirty movies, and then there's "Wetlands." If you haven't seen the filthy trailer for the film, you really should, because not only is it disgustingly fun, it marks David Wnendt as a filmmaker you'll want to keep an eye on. Today we've got an exclusive clip along with three teaser posters as well. A fully game Carla Juri leads the movie as Helen, an eighteen year-old with a kink for all things sexual (and otherwise) that most would find completely gross. But her fetishes gets her in trouble when a shaving accident lands her in the hospital. But Carla is not without allies, and in this clip, we meet her best friend....though by their initial introduction, it's hard to believe they will ever speak to each other again. And we'd wager that there are not many movies this year that will contain the word "gang bang" and »
- Kevin Jagernauth
New Trailer, Featurettes, Clip & Poster From Denzel Washington Actioner 'The Equalizer'
4 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
It’s been a bumpy road for “The Equalizer.” The big screen adaptation of the '80s TV show originally had Paul Haggis at the helm with Russell Crowe to star before both men departed, then Nicolas Winding Refn briefly flirted with a Hollywood career, followed by “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” director Rupert Wyatt attaching himself, departing shortly afterwards, and finally Sony Pictures got the combination right with Antoine Fuqua settling into the director’s chair for good and Denzel Washington squaring up to play the lead. With less than a month to go until release, the studio’s kicking the marketing machine into overdrive. Yesterday, Latino Review posted the action thriller’s newest poster —a moody and rain-soaked portrait of Washington’s McCall— alongside a new two-minute-and-a-half trailer that features the new Eminem and Sia collaboration, “Guts Over Fear.” There isn’t any drastically new footage in the trailer. »
- Cain Rodriguez
No, HBO Isn't Reviving 'Flight Of The Conchords,' But Jemaine Clement Is Returning To The Network
4 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
Lovers of New Zealand-born folk-rock rejoiced yesterday when reports spread like wildfire over the internet that the beloved HBO comedy series "Flight Of The Conchords" would be returning to the network. The show ended its two-season run back in 2009, leaving fans champing at the bit for more, but several outlets reported that in an interview with The Guardian, co-Conchord Jemaine Clement had announced that he was working on a four-part revival of the show for HBO. Those outlets evidently didn't read the story properly, because Clement said nothing of the sort. What he actually said is that he's working on a brand-new comedy for the network with "Eagle Vs. Shark" director Taika Waititi, with whom he just made cult vampire mockumentary "What We Do In The Shadows." No further details are forthcoming, but given how much fun 'Shadows' is, this is certainly good news. Clement did say that there have »
- Oliver Lyttelton
Treasure Hunting with the Zellners
4 hours ago | Keyframe | See recent Keyframe news »
David and Nathan Zellner started making films together when they were kids, acting in their own home movies shot on camcorder. "I think that's what first got is interested in making films is wanting to perform," says David, director and co-star of their new feature Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter. It premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival (where it won a Special Jury Prize for the score by The Octopus Project), was picked up for distribution by Amplify and has made stops at Fantasia and Nextfest this summer. It's not their first feature—they've made four previous feature-length productions if you count a film they made right out college (it's not available and they don't even include it on IMDb), and that doesn't take into account the many short films they've made in between—but it is poised to be their break-out film. Based on an urban legend of a Japanese »
Tiff Exclusive: Simon Pegg Arrives In Tibet In Clip From 'Hector And The Search For Happiness'
4 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
Simon Pegg has faced zombies ("Shaun Of The Dead"), an alien invasion ("The World's End"), super villains (two "Mission: Impossible" movies, with a third on the way), been blasted into outer space (two "Star Trek" films) among other adversity. But in "Hector And The Search For Happiness" he faces his most intriguing obstacle yet: inner peace. Heading to the Toronto International Film Festival where it will make its North American premiere, 'Hector' shows a different side to Pegg to those more familiar with his genre work, and this exclusive clip displays the more thoughtful yet still playful tone of his latest effort. Peter Chelsom ("Shall We Dance," "Serendipity") directs, and Toni Collette, Rosamund Pike, Stellan Skarsgård, Jean Reno, Veronica Ferres, Barry Atsma and Christopher Plummer co-star in a movie following a psychiatrist who having lost the ability to offer insight to his own patients embarks »
- Edward Davis
Quentin Tarantino's 'The Hateful Eight' Confirmed For Fall 2015, Will Have Widest 70mm Release In 20 Years
4 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
A press release from The Weinstein Company has reached inboxes, bringing rock solid confirmation of some good news: the studio will be releasing "The Hateful Eight," the latest film from Quentin Tarantino, the filmmaker's ninth, in a little over a year. Having come close to dropping the project when the script leaked at the start of this year, Tarantino's now preparing for a January shoot for the project, and the press release confirms the news from the recent teaser trailer that the film will be released in the fall of 2015. Most intriguingly, the film, which Tarantino has long-touted would be filmed in large format, will apparently receive 'the widest 70mm release in over 20 years' (we think the last to get a similar roll-out was Ron Howard's "Far & Away"). For anyone who loves film, that can only be a good thing. With a January start date, we'll likely hear confirmation »
- Oliver Lyttelton
Joel Bach and David Gelber on Years of Living Dangerously
5 hours ago | Filmmaker Magazine - Blog | See recent Filmmaker Magazine news »
The title Years of Living Dangerously could just as easily refer to the time its creators spent producing the recent series. And it has indeed been a busy few years for the journalists-turned-film producers Joel Bach and David Gelber. The pair left their posts at 60 Minutes several years ago to pursue a passion project, long-form documentary on global warming. The result, a six-part series that aired on Showtime this spring and, last week, took home the Emmy for the best nonfiction series, beating out Fox’s fantastic and much-lauded series Cosmos. Now the team is gearing up for phase two of the release, a launch on […] »
- Randy Astle
Long-Delayed Jennifer Lawrence/Bradley Cooper Drama 'Serena' Premiering At BFI London Film Festival
5 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
Of all the movies already unveiled at film festivals this year, there's been one very notable absence, one that you'd think would be a dead cert for a high-profile bow: "Serena," a period melodrama re-teaming "Silver Linings Playbook" and "American Hustle" duo Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, under the stewardship of Danish director Susanne Bier. The film was shot back in 2012, and given the A-list talent involved, the film was widely touted for a major premiere at Cannes, Venice or Tiff, but it has been nowhere to be found. Until now, that is: the line-up for the 2014 BFI London Film Festival was announced this morning, and "Serena" will bow there ahead of its October 24th release date in the UK. But the film's appearance at the fest will not receive much fanfare, whereas "The Imitation Game" will open and "Fury" will close. This appears to be the world premiere of the movie, »
- Oliver Lyttelton
Sony 4K News and Arria Alexa 3.2K ProRes Recording
5 hours ago | Filmmaker Magazine - Blog | See recent Filmmaker Magazine news »
It’s been another interesting week for 4K video, and all the news may not be out yet! New Sony E-Mount 4K? Rumors have been swelling the last few days about a new Sony 4K E-Mount camera that may be announced prior too – or at – Ibc. There’s even talk that it will be called the FS700 II, though that seems odd given that the camera in the picture looks very, very different to the current FS700. Of course, there could be two cameras… but I’ve been wrong before when I’ve tried to make sense of Sony product naming and […] »
- Michael Murie
Venice Review: HBO Miniseries ‘Olive Kitteridge’ Starring Frances McDormand, Richard Jenkins And Bill Murray
5 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
So that’s that then — the best film at the Venice Film Festival in terms of providing a great central female role (which have been in shocking short supply, at least in the selection we’ve seen so far) is not a film at all. It’s the subtle, sublime Lisa Cholodenko-directed 4-hour HBO miniseries “Olive Kitteridge,” and the performance in question come from Frances McDormand, who achieves such a perfect, uncompromised synthesis with the title character that it’s difficult to imagine anyone else ever answering to the name. Quite apart from the show itself, which is sensitively directed by Cholodenko, cleverly written by Jane Anderson, beautifully shot by Dp Frederick Elmes and immaculately performed across its large ensemble, especially the incredible Richard Jenkins, the meta narrative of seeing one of our greatest working actresses unite with such an unusual and worthwhile role is immensely satisfying all by itself. »
- Jessica Kiang
Escape from Africa – African Indy Films Unleashed on the World (t)
6 hours ago | Hope for Film | See recent Hope for Film (t) news »
Africa in film is on the rise. There is an explosion of filmmakers and storytellers emerging from the continent with a global vision that reflects the realities of contemporary life – rapid urbanization, internet-enabled mobile phones and satellite TV in middle-class African homes. These filmmakers have burning and powerful stories they wish to tell and share with the world and these stories are as compelling and diverse as the continent, its inhabitants and its history. Therefore audiences, eager for distinct content, are turning to Africa.
African filmmakers, influenced by their native locales and the western world, deliver excellence in filmmaking, original ideas and a balance in the characters explored within their stories. These films offer a raw angle, fresh faces and explore issues that diverge from the mainstream with the emerging stories as varied and diverse as the continent itself.
However, international sales are lacking with most African countries experiencing a notable lack of distribution, »
- Anwuli
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