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Venice Review: Drake Doremus' 'Equals' With Kristen Stewart, Nicholas Hoult, Guy Pearce & Jacki Weaver
7 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
Finally, a cure for the incurable romantic. Drake Doremus' 'Equals,' starring Nicholas Hoult and Kristen Stewart and presumably sponsored by Tide White & Bright, is a film that might just make you hate love. Rather like being trapped on the set of "The Island" with a pair of obnoxiously lovesick naifs and only the "Equilibrium" script to distract you, its few saving graces are some decent shot-making, a rather great score and the loveliness of its lead actors' faces. But while Hoult and Stewart as the star cross'd Silas and Nia are both as committed as they've ever been, it feels like they committed to a much better film: Nathan Parker's script, as outlined by Doremus, gives them nothing to work with save for some tired "Romeo and Juliet" beats and recycled "emotionless dystopia" cliches. It's exactly as much fun as hanging out with a new couple »
- Jessica Kiang
2 More Great Posters For 'Macbeth' Arrive
9 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
While "Macbeth" remains bizarrely, curiously, and disappointingly absent from the fall festival calendar, and by extension, the awards season race, I still can't wait to see the movie, even if Harvey Weinstein has apparently already moved on. Justin Kurzel's expressive, grim take on the Shakespeare play earned solid notices at the Cannes Film Festival, and beyond that, put Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in anything and I'll watch the heck out of it (even "Assassin's Creed," apparently). This is all just a long-winded way of saying there are some new posters. And they are very good. There's not much else to tell you except to look below. It's a pretty great treatment for the movie on this one sheet, with the Bard's already badass play looking more, well, badass. It's not easy to drum up excitement for a Shakespeare movie, all delivered in iambic pentameter no less, but certainly, »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Scott Cooper Explains Why Sienna Miller Was Cut From 'Black Mass'
9 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons, Kevin Bacon, David Harbour, Dakota Johnson, Julianne Nicholson, Adam Scott, Corey Stoll, Juno Temple — Scott Cooper's "Black Mass" is not wanting in characters or stars to play them, but a movie can only hold so much, and unfortunately one had to go: the underrated and very talented Sienna Miller. So, why was she left on the cutting room floor? “It came down to narrative choices,” the director told Boston Globe. Slated to play Bulger's latter day girlfriend Catherine Greig, who was on the run with the gangster for fifteen years after he left Boston, Cooper ultimately determined these events were not as compelling as his days knockin' skulls on the streets of Beantown. Greig helped Bulger stay underground for a long time, and while it sounds interesting to me, I'm not a moviemaker. Perhaps we'll see the sequences she shot as »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Kenneth Branagh To Direct Ya Adaptation 'Artemis Fowl'
10 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
I guess it's time to stop being surprised that Kenneth Branagh has gone from Shakespeare to blockbusters. I'm sure one pays much better than the other. His last three films have seen him comfortably embrace large scale films, rolling with Marvel on "Thor," trying (and failing) to reboot the titular character in "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit," and this spring he released "Cinderella." So what's next on his plate? A Ya adaptation, naturally. Variety reports that Branagh will helm "Artemis Fowl." Based on the series by Eoin Colfer (franchise!) the story follows the fantastical adventures of a twelve-year old criminal mastermind. Here's the synopsis of the first book to give you an idea of what it's all about: Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is the most ingenious criminal mastermind in history. With two trusty sidekicks in tow, he hatches a cunning plot to divest the fairyfolk of their pot of gold. Of course, »
- Kevin Jagernauth
'Black Mass' Director Scott Cooper To Helm Endangered Species Drama 'American Wolf'
10 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
One could argue that Whitey Bulger was an animal, a remorseless gangster who killed as easily as breathing. So one could say that "Black Mass" director Scott Cooper has the perfect training under his belt for the gig that has just landed on his desk. Read More: Venice Review: 'Black Mass' Starring Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, And More The Wrap reports that Cooper will helm the true story tale, "American Wolf." To keep the animal theme going, "The Wolf Of Wall Street" star and environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio will produce the picture. Based source material by Texas Monthly senior editor Nate Blakeslee, the film follows the friendship that forms between a park ranger and a hunter after the latter accidentally kills a beloved endangered wolf in Yellowstone National Park. So, sort of a reverse "The Revenant" or something? It's an interesting tale, based on an event that »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Movie Poster of the Week: Wes Craven’s “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and the Posters of Matthew Peak
11 hours ago | MUBI | See recent MUBI news »
In the 2010 documentary Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy, Wes Craven predicts that when he dies his obituaries will say “Probably best known for inventing Freddy Krueger.” When he passed away last Sunday the New York Times headline read “Wes Craven, Whose Slasher Films Terrified Millions, Dies at 76,” but the second paragraph of his obit did say, “perhaps Mr. Craven’s most famous creation was the serial killer Freddy Krueger, played by Robert Englund, who, with his razor-blade glove, haunted the dreams of high school students in ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ and its sequels.”Though he had been making films for 12 years, starting with the Bergman-inspired Last House on the Left in 1972—not to mention a few years of making porn films before that—it was A Nightmare on Elm Street, a little indie horror film that he both wrote and directed, that made Wes Craven’s fortune. »
- Adrian Curry
Thinking of Tarkovsky While Making New Zealand Look Russian: Dp Tim Orr on Z For Zachariah
11 hours ago | Filmmaker Magazine - Blog | See recent Filmmaker Magazine news »
The settings for Craig Zobel’s 2012 behavioral experiment Compliance and the director’s new post-apocalyptic tale Z for Zachariah couldn’t be more different. The former takes place almost entirely in the claustrophobic confines of a fast food restaurant’s employees-only areas. The latter unfolds amidst lush, bucolic tranquility. Yet at the heart of both films is a study of group dynamics. Set in an idyllic valley mysteriously immune to an extinction-level catastrophe, Z for Zachariah begins as a two-hander featuring Margot Robbie as a Christian farm girl who believes she’s the last person on earth until the arrival of an atheist scientist […] »
- Matt Mulcahey
Telluride & Tiff: Watch 3 Clips From Andrew Haigh's '45 Years' Plus Over 30 Minutes Of Interviews And More
11 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
Going the long haul from January and February all the way through Oscar season is a tough feat. Fox Searchlight is giving it a whirl this year, however, with "Brooklyn," and we'll see what Sundance Selects does with "45 Years" in the months ahead. Andrew Haigh's film earned loads of praise when it debuted at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, winning Silver Bear awards for its lead actors Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling. It has since hit numerous festivals around the world, opened in the U.K., and now a wealth of clips, interviews, and behind-the-scenes material has surfaced. Read More: Telluride 2015: 10 Must-See Films To Watch Out Of A Killer Lineup The drama tells the story of Kate and Geoff, an older married couple who find their carefree union suddenly shaken when the body of Geoff's former girlfriend, Katya, who died in a tragic accident, is discovered years after the fact. »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Watch: Colorful Supercut Highlights The Use Of Red In The Films Of Martin Scorsese
11 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
Any fan of Martin Scorsese knows of his encyclopedic film knowledge and adoration for the cinema of yesteryear, and he often tips his hat to those influences in his work. Film Scalpel, an emerging site for cinephiles and novices alike, has created this video documenting Marty’s devotion to tinting specific frames (a technique formerly used to spruce up a black and white shot), and in this video, we're all seeing red. Read More: The 20 Greatest Musical Moments In The Films Of Martin Scorsese The decided color evokes a spectrum of emotions — lust, greed, and revenge in “The Departed”; sheer terror in “Cape Fear,” though Jessica Lange applying lipstick in another scene is both sensual and curious; the blood-stained shots of Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci in “Goodfellas”; and, of course, the illuminated club in “New York, New York.” Travis Bickle amid the haunting, lingering red lights »
- Samantha Vacca
Watch: Man Up With The New Trailer For Craig Roberts' Directorial Debut 'Just Jim' Starring Emile Hirsch
12 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
Some actors wait for a long time to jump behind the camera, hoping to soak up all the knowledge they can before giving it a whirl in the director's seat, but not so for Craig Roberts. He's not even 25, and is only starting to amass a lengthy CV as an actor, but he's already knocked out his directorial debut, "Just Jim." And after premiering at SXSW this year, the film is gearing up to hit theaters this fall, and a new trailer has arrived. Read More: Exclusive Poster For 'Submarine' Star Craig Robert's Directorial Debut 'Just Jim' Roberts also takes a co-starring role in the movie alongside Emile Hirsch. The story follows an outcast teenager who can't even earn much attention from his parents, and who gets some life hack tips from his super cool, cigarette-smoking, neighbor Dean. But the friendship he thinks he's forged becomes something else. »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Attention, Filmmakers: You Won't Believe How These Stunning Landscape Shots Were Taken
12 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »
Read More: Attention, Filmmakers: Here's How to Create Holograms In Camera Joey Shanks, our resident VFX genius, has released a new how-to video for filmmakers on creating mind-blowing landscape shots using sand art frames and a bit of water. Just how does this work? Shanks explains, "A sand picture consists of two panes of glass glued together creating a tight air seal. Liquid, sand and small pockets of air live inside the glass. Rotating the sand picture will cause the air bubbles inside the glass to rise, creating an air barrier between the liquid and the sand." What results are shockingly lifelike shots of the outdoors. Of the three different sand-art picture frames Shank uses, none cost him more than $75, with the smallest costing only $5. Check out the insane video above courtesy of PBS digital studios. Read More: Movie Lovers We Love: Joey Shanks Shows Filmmakers How to Do Special »
- Aubrey Page
Watch: Neil Patrick Harris Promises an Awesome Hour in 'Best Time Ever' Trailer
12 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »
NBC's "Best Time Ever" recently dropped a first look trailer to give audiences a better glimpse at the shenanigans Neil Patrick Harris intends to get into this season. Read More: NBC Fall 2015: Everything You Need to Know, From Neil Patrick Harris' Variety Show to A Very Confusing Wesley Snipes Series The "How I Met Your Mother" grad will host what he calls "seven shows happening at the same time," taking inspiration from the popular U.K. series, "Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway." In the spirit of its predecessor, "Best Show Ever" will feature comedy sketches, musical numbers, mini game shows, hidden camera pranks on celebrities and appearances by popular TV stars, like Cobie Smulders (and really that's all that matters). "Best Time Ever" premieres September 15 on NBC. Take a look at the teaser above. Read More: Laura Poitras and Edward Snowden Talk Nsa, Neil Patrick Harris and. »
- Jessica Cariaga
Watch: Visit Hell's Club Where Characters From 'Casino,' 'Collateral,' 'Scarface,' 'American Hustle,' And More All Hang Out
12 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
In our increasingly digital era, it now feels safe to say that mash-ups qualify, in their way, as authentic micro-narratives. Many of these videos simply pay tribute to the great work of past filmmakers and today’s most vaulted auteurs. They are undeniably pervasive in the culture — the compulsion to dissect and rearrange traditional cinematic storylines and play mix-and-match with your favorite films must be a hard one to resist. And then, every now and again, you see something like Antonio Maria Da Silva’s ludicrous, fast-paced “Hell’s Club.” It’s a mash-up of old and new movies that’s so seamlessly engineered that you forget that you’re essentially watching a sort of visual collage, a give-and-take tribute to other films. Which is to say that the mash-up itself has a strange, scattered little story all its own. Read More: Watch This Supercut That Highlights The Visual Symmetry »
- Nicholas Laskin
Tiff Trailer: Academy Award Winner Maggie Smith Is 'The Lady In The Van'
13 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
Listen, I'll be the first to admit, on paper, "Lady In The Van" is not my bag. It looks like the kind of movie I'd recommend to my Mom, which is fine, she'd probably enjoy it more than I would. That being said, it is playing the Toronto International Film Festival and does have some pedigree behind it, so maybe it'll be a little surprise. I'm willing to keep an open mind. Read More: Review: 'My Old Lady' Starring Kevin Kline And Maggie Smith Anyway, the film stars Maggie Smith in the unlikely true story that happened to writer Alan Bennett (who penned the screenplay based on his own memoir) about a woman who parked her camper van in his driveway and proceeded to live there for 15 years. Here's the official synopsis: Based on the true story of Miss Shepherd, a woman of uncertain origins who "temporarily" parked »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Programmer Ryan Edgington on Videology’s Move to Theatrical Runs with Mark Duplass Production Creep
13 hours ago | Filmmaker Magazine - Blog | See recent Filmmaker Magazine news »
In a flurry of recent announcements that include the launch of Metrograph, a repertory and indie cinema on the Lower East Side, and the expansion of Greenwich Village’s IFC Center, New York is beating back against the so-called deterioration of the theatrical experience. The Williamsburg bar-video rental store-screening room Videology, along with its neighboring Spectacle, is also dipping its toe into the weeklong run, with an exclusive release of Patrick Brice’s first film, Creep, on the heals of its extended runs of Drafthouse titles Roar and The Tribe. Filmmaker spoke to programmer Ryan Edgington about the venue’s transition, if “eventizing” is necessary to draw audiences, and what else […] »
- Sarah Salovaara
How Two Orthodox Jewish Boys Gained Entry to the Least Orthodox of Industries
13 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »
Growing up in a small Jewish community in New York, while our friends indulged in schoolwork and normal childhood activity, we spent our time making horror films on our parents Dv camera and binging on whatever genre titles we could find in the local video store. Despite no real connections to the film industry, we were determined and we had chutzpah. Read More: Blood and Intense Teaser for Virus Horror Film 'Contracted: Phase II' Upon entering high school, J.D. read an article in Fangoria magazine which claimed Eli Roth checked his own Myspace messages. Immediately, we created an account and sent a message asking for any advice the maestro may offer. He responded. Just like that, we recognized what an incredible tool social networking sites could be, and got to work fostering whatever relationships we could from the other side of the country. Those relationships led to internships, and later, »
- J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules
Watch: 5-Minute Tribute To The Films Of The Great Hal Ashby
14 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
While I’ve personally never been the biggest fan of director Hal Ashby – the renegade humanist whose birthday just passed – I’ll be the first to admit that his impact and relevance on cinema as a whole is undeniable. After all these years, Ashby remains one of the last true quintessential Hollywood outsiders: an icon of the counter-culture who, though he may never have achieved the near-universal recognition of New Hollywood peers like Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, is nevertheless a symbol for a certain kind of idiosyncratic and deeply-personal filmmaking. His best pictures, such as the bristling, poetically profane “The Last Detail” or his great Warren Beatty movie “Shampoo” – in this writer’s opinion, the director’s most soulful and accessible film – radiate a sort of wounded compassion for their screwed-up characters. Ashby also had a great gallows sense of humor that he would deftly deploy to offset »
- Nicholas Laskin
5 Brilliant Films About the Dark Side of Famous Geniuses
14 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »
[Editor's Note: This post is presented in partnership with Time Warner Cable Movies On Demand in support of Indie Film Month. Today's pick, "Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine," is available now On Demand. Need help finding a movie to watch? Let TWC find the best fit for your mood here.] Read More: 'The Man in the Machine' Trailer Proves You Don't Know Everything about Steve Jobs Great minds are often double-sided coins. On one hand, genius is a gift. Possessing a unique perspective coupled with a prodigious ability is a singular opportunity in life. It can be used to change the world, achieve notoriety, and everything in between. But on the flip side, being bestowed with a great mind can make for an isolating experience in life, fraught with the myriad challenges associated with greatness and the psychological pitfalls of brilliance. Many of history's greatest minds — Van Gogh being the most prominent example — were tortured »
- Emily Buder
Watch: Featurette For Terrence Malick's 'Knight Of Cups' Reveals New Footage
14 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »
It seems Terrence Malick isn't going to drop two movies this year. The director unveiled his latest, "Knight Of Cups," in Berlin in February, but it looks like neither his follow-up "Weightless" or his documentary "Voyage Of Time" will surface before the year is out. "Knight Of Cups" won't open theatrically until next year, but this featurette should hold you over. Read More: New International Poster For Terrence Malick's 'Knight Of Cups' Running a few minutes long, it finds cast members Natalie Portman, Wes Bentley, Brian Dennehy, and Isabel Lucas sharing their experiences of shooting the movie, as lots of new, swooping footage from the film fills everything in. But what does it all add up to? According to our critic in Berlin, not a lot really, as she described it as "neither here nor there, neither great nor terrible, just an eternal dance of recollections in which nothing is answered, »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Vote for Project of the Week: Will It Be 'Atlantic Salmon: Lost at Sea,' 'Fellow Travellers,' 'De Nada,' or 'Dark Detour 2: All That Glitters'?
14 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »
The winning filmmaker will become a candidate for September Project of the Month. That winner will be in the running for Project of the Year. The four projects up for this week's Project of the Week are listed below (with descriptions courtesy of the filmmakers). You can vote at the bottom of the page. Atlantic Salmon - Lost at Sea: An epic journey through the oceanic kingdom of the Atlantic Salmon – king of fish – in an attempt to unravel the mystery of their life at sea. Fellow Travellers: A group of commuters escape from their dull "live action" lives into the "2-D animated" world of dream, in which they can become their true selves. De Nada: A bilingual comedy-drama about a pack of undocumented teenagers, hustling together to get through a summer day. Dark Detour 2: All That Glitters: A real-time, multi-platform horror story for Halloween, in which you can become part of the story. »
- Indiewire
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