Indie News

Why Hulu's '11.22.63' Made It Even Harder for James Franco to Save John F. Kennedy

3 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »

J.J. Abrams might be the big name producer who's bringing the Stephen King adaptation "11.22.63" to Hulu, but at the TCA Winter Press Tour, Indiewire leapt at the chance to talk with showrunner Bridget Carpenter, the woman with all the answers about what went into bringing this story to life on screen. After all, probably the only thing tougher than making a period drama is making a story about time travel make sense. And "11.22.63," which explores what happens when a modern day high school teacher gets a chance to travel back to the '60s and save President John F. Kennedy from one of the most famous assassinations of all time, is both those things. Read More: Hulu Acquiring Stephen King's '11/22/63' is a Netflix-Style Power Play Carpenter, whose previous television experience includes shows like "Parenthood" and "Friday Night Lights," explained a few of the major changes made from the book, »

- Liz Shannon Miller

Review: Hulu's '11.22.63' Brings Us Some Great Grand Storytelling

3 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »

When it comes to "11.22.63" (a title which has ensured that at least I, personally, will never forget the day that President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Texas), the best place to start is with Stephen King's book. But not the novel it's based on, which tracks the time travel adventures of a high school English teacher who gets a magical opportunity to try to save Kennedy from assassination. Instead, the best way to approach the new Hulu series produced by J.J. Abrams and developed by Bridget Carpenter comes from King's book on the basics of his profession. Interview With Bridget Carpenter: Why Hulu's '11.22.63' Made It Even Harder for James Franco to Save John F. Kennedy "On Writing," first released in 2000, is a compelling combination of memoir and King's personal advice on the art of words, from the point of view of a man who's »

- Liz Shannon Miller

Overwrought Nostalgia Gets In The Way Of Martin Scorsese’s Episode 1 Of ‘Vinyl’

4 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »

Fan service is conventionally understood the following way: niche enthusiast watches show or film, then excitedly notices references that only he or she and their fellow nerds will recognize. HBO's "Vinyl" demonstrates that fan service is no longer only the coin of the realm for the superhero/sci-fi/fantasy crowd —it's also for people with enormous record collections. Never before has a TV show specifically appealed to people with perfect recall regarding who the engineer for Big Star's #1 Hit Record might have been. Read More: Retrospective: The Films Of Martin Scorsese HBO’s previous prestige program revolving around music culture was “Sonic Highways,” a travelogue in which Dave Grohl visited a number of cities with strong “rock” heritage, and in essence browbeat viewers with insufficient respect for the way Grohl thinks music should be made and appreciated. “Vinyl” is set in a milieu which would earn Grohl’s approval: which is to say, »

- Rob Kemp

'Salt' TV Series In The Works

4 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »

Since 2010's Angelina Jolie-starring spy thriller "Salt" earned nearly $295 million worldwide, Sony predictably saw franchise potential as such. Kurt Winner, who penned the first film, wrote a draft for "Salt 2" which was apparently turned down by Jolie, and at the end of 2012, “The Prince of Tides” and “Seven Years in Tibet” scribe Becky Johnston was tapped to write another version. But it seems Sony has finally realized no one wants a "Salt" sequel, and are exploring an option that makes a bit more sense in terms of brand extension. Read More: Angelina Jolie Pitt's Commendable, Arty And Retro "By The Sea" Co-Starring Brad Pitt Screen Daily reports that a "Salt" TV series is in the works. “We want to bring it to Europe in a completely different way,” said Diego Suarez, Sony's Vice President Of International Television Production. There is no word yet on the talent that will be involved, »

- Kevin Jagernauth

Watch: New Trailer For 'Midnight Special' With Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton & Kirsten Dunst Delivers More Mystery

5 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »

Long delayed and seemingly not commanding much of Warner Bros' attention, Jeff Nichols' "Midnight Special" still looks to be the movie we've been hoping for. In a review out of the Berlin International Film Festival, Jessica Kiang called the film a "mournful homage, or maybe a psalm, to the primal instincts of fatherhood," mixing aspects of of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter and James Cameron, and a new trailer has arrived. Read More: The 10 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2016 Berlin Film Festival Starring Joel Edgerton, Adam Driver, Kirsten Dunst, Michael Shannon, Jaeden Lieberher and Sam Shepard, the story follows a messianic child whose gifts make him the target of a variety of vaguely sinister groups, and the father who must protect him. Here's the official synopsis: Roy (Michael Shannon) is a father desperate to protect his uniquely gifted, eight-year-old son in this genre-defying thriller which proves once again that. »

- Kevin Jagernauth

Berlin Review: Cynthia Nixon is Excellent as Emily Dickinson in Terence Davies' 'A Quiet Passion'

5 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »

Read More: Terence Davies and His 'Quiet Passion' Cast Talk Emily Dickinson in Berlin Who else but Terence Davies could condense Emily Dickinson's life into a question of religious rebellion? With "A Quiet Passion," the Liverpool-born auteur interprets the nineteenth century poet as a tailor-made conduit for his chief concerns and interests: family, patriarchy, death and Catholicism. Given its themes and the tragic circumstances of Dickinson's life, "Passion" is a refreshingly humorous work. Its firecracker dialogue is invigorating; the assured, measured compositions are equally compelling. And in its sensitivity to intersecting conflicts related to womanhood and class, it is quietly masterful. Dickinson was born in 1830, and spent most of her life in Amherst, Massachusetts — where she died in 1886. She was the second of three children: her brother Austin was born in 1829 and her sister Lavinia (known as Vinnie) was born in 1833. Their father, Edward Dickinson, »

- Michael Pattison

Watch: Exclusive Trailer for 'Midnight Special' Teases a Beautifully Crafted New Sci-Fi Feature For the Ages

5 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »

Read More: Berlin Review: With 'Midnight Special,' Jeff Nichols Offers Up a Very Special Sci-Fi Thriller Hot off a much talked-about Berlin International Film Festival premiere just last week, Jeff Nichols' long-anticipated sci-fi outing "Midnight Special" has a brand new trailer to show off, and Indiewire is very pleased to exclusively debut it here. The new trailer is packed with plenty of pull quotes from admiring Berlinale critics that should only excite audiences further. The latest film from the "Mud" and "Take Shelter" director seems to harken back to classic sci-fi features from the likes of John Carpenter and Steven Spielberg — one of the new trailer's quotes calls it out as "close encounters of a new kind" — and this new look has imagery and tension to match that lofty praise. In the film, Michael Shannon plays the father of Jaeden Lieberher's Alton, an eight-year-old boy with special powers. »

- Kate Erbland

Berlin Review: 'Alone In Berlin' Starring Brendan Gleeson, Emma Thompson & Daniel Bruhl

5 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »

There is a way that you do World War II films. You adapt a well-known book. You pay a lot of attention to locations and period costuming. You send up the bat-signal for Daniel Brühl and/or Sebastian Koch to lend some genuine Germanness, get a respected Dp to lend texture to the mandatory brown/gray palette (with splashes of shocking Nazi red), and secure the services of an Oscar-winning composer known for his neo-classical/orchestral talents. And you cast notable, never-miss non-German thesps as your main leads and have them speak in accented English. "Alone in Berlin," adapted by French actor-turned-director Vincent Perez from the bestselling novel by Hans Fallada with cinematography from Christophe Beaucarne ("Coco Before Chanel," "Beauty and the Beast"), is an English-language film, scored by Alexandre Desplat, starring Brendan Gleeson, Emma Thompson and Brühl—one imagines Koch must have been indisposed. This film adheres »

- Jessica Kiang

Exclusive: Junkie Xl Talks The ‘Deadpool’ Soundtrack & Score On The Milan Records Podcast

6 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »

Musician Tom Holkenborg, aka Junkie Xl, is perhaps one of the fastest rising film composers on the scene right now. He wrote the music for “Mad Max: Fury Road,” was tapped by Hans Zimmer to co-compose the music for “Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice,” and this weekend his music was featured in the biggest movie on the planet: “Deadpool.” In case you missed it, “Deadpool” had a massive weekend, shattering the opening weekend record for an R-rated film by over $40 million. It was also 20th Century Fox’s biggest domestic debut ever, even besting the opening of “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.” Read More: Box Office: 'Deadpool' Smashes Records On Way To $150 Million President's Day Weekend So suffice to say, Holkenborg’s chosen well. “Deadpool” is also the highest-opening R-rated superhero movie by a massive margin, that little film called ‘Batman V. Superman’ should probably do »

- Edward Davis

'Force Majeure' Director Ruben Ostlund Lines Up English Film & TV Show; Bruno Dumont To Shoot Joan of Arc Musical This Summer

6 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »

Every now and then, foreign filmmakers try to transition to a broader audience by tackling English language fare, and sometimes it pans out, and on other occasions they retreat back to their native tongue. And Ruben Ostlund, who earned plenty of acclaim for Force Majeur, is going to try and make the leap. Variety reports he's got two projects, one for the big screen, and another for the small. On the film front, Ostlund will helm "The Square" which will "most likely" be in English. The plot will revolve around a museum's attempt to drum up publicity for an altruistically themed exhibit that goes over the line. Casting is underway, and production will begin this summer, which likely means a return to Cannes next spring for Ostlund. Meanwhile, he's also working on a English TV comedy, »

- Kevin Jagernauth

Listen: Michael Mann Talks Changes To 'Blackhat,' 'Last Of The Mohicans' & Possible Sci-Fi Project In 1-Hour Talk

6 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »

On the surface, Michael Mann doesn’t have much to promote these days, but the Brooklyn Academy Of Music’s retrospective “Heat & Vice: The Films of Michael Mann” has facilitated lots of change for the legendary filmmaker. First off, he’s recut his hacker thriller, “Blackhat” on his own — it’s unclear if it’ll get a proper release — and he’s supervised the prints of every film playing at Bam. In fact, for “Collateral,” his 2004 thriller starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx that was mostly shot digitally, Mann supervised the first Dcp “print” of the movie, which he described as far superior to the theatrical prints struck at the time that did not reflect the nuance of how the digital photography captured light and texture at night. And that version will be shown for the first time (and only time?) tomorrow night (February 16th). Read More: Michael Mann At Bam: The Recut 'Blackhat, »

- Rodrigo Perez

Watch: 'Marvel's Daredevil' Season 2 Trailer Introduces Pain and The Punisher to Matt Murdock's World

7 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »

Read More: Ray Romano Got Cast In 'Vinyl' Because Martin Scorsese Had Never Heard Of 'Everybody Loves Raymond' Can vigilante justice be purely a positive? Or, in more direct terminology, will a superhero who flies solo be the good cause of a dangerous effect? We've been pondering such questions since "The Dark Knight" blew open the idea of what a comic book movie could be, and similar questions seem to be popping up in the first trailer for the second season of "Marvel's Daredevil." Focusing on Jon Bernthal as The Punisher, the above trailer — billed as Part 1 of two — offers the idea that because Matt Murdoch (Charlie Cox) donned a leather leotard and kicked crime's ass a year ago, it's his fault a new, more violent, more lethal version of the rogue vigilante has hit the streets. Packed with hard-hitting punches and flying bullets, the spot certainly isn't shy about »

- Ben Travers

Watch: First Trailer For Animated Musical ‘Sing’ Featuring Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson & More

7 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »

Illumination Entertainment have scored hits with "Despicable Me" and spinoff "Minions," and in 2016 they are hoping to knock two out of the park. "The Secret Life Of Pets" hits this summer, with the studio betting on animated cats and dogs packing 'em in (and to be fair, it does look kinda of cute). And then this holiday, they're want to make you "Sing." Read More: The 30 Best Voice Performances In Pixar Movies Directed by Garth Jennings ( “Son of Rambow,” “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy”), and featuring a star-studded voice cast including Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly, Nick Kroll, Jennifer Saunders, Peter Serafinowicz, Leslie Jones, Jay Pharoah, Nick Offerman, and Beck Bennett, the movie's premise is basically an animal "American Idol." Here's the official synopsis: Set in a world like ours but entirely inhabited by »

- Kevin Jagernauth

'Deadpool' Helmer Tim Miller Says No Director's Cut Coming, Talks Influence Of 'Fight Club,' Doesn't Get The Doof Warrior

7 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »

With "Deadpool" obliterating multiple box office records this weekend, and a sequel already greenlit, you're going to be seeing a lot more of the Merc With A Mouth. But one thing you won't be seeing? A director's cut. While there was some chatter that an "even more raw" version of the movie might surface, that's not in the cards according to director Tim Miller. "I don’t wanna be all Joss Whedon on you, but no there’s not [a director’s cut]… There are some deleted scenes that have some extra stuff, but I’m pretty happy with this cut. I like it," he told Collider, though he does tease the DVD extras will include some more violent bits from the workshop fight sequence, that producer Simon Kinberg wanted slightly toned down for the theatrical release. Read More: Box Office: 'Deadpool' Smashes Records On Way To $150 Million President's Day Weekend Meanwhile, »

- Kevin Jagernauth

How 'Vinyl' Represents The Stunted Progress of Diversity on TV

7 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »

Bobby Cannavale is absolutely tremendous in "Vinyl." Even just one episode in, he's already proven himself Emmy-worthy as the wildly dysfunctional record company executive who just loves, loves, loves music (perhaps to his own detriment). Yet the reason he's already qualified for the most coveted award in all of television is because he got so much screen time in the pilot, and he gets so much screen time because he's the lead of the series. Based on early samples of supporting players Olivia Wilde, Juno Temple and newcomer Ato Essandoh, all of them seem like they could be contenders, as well, but we just haven't seen enough of them yet to know for sure. Last Week's Episode: What Time Is the Right Time For Watching Late Night TV? And somewhere within this rather elaborate comparison lies the problem. "Vinyl" is a very well-made, very well-acted series, but it's not exactly »

- Indiewire

5 Horror Anthology Films That Will Give You Nightmares

8 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, "Southbound," is available now On Demand. Need help finding a movie to watch? Let TWC find the best fit for your mood here.] Read More: Exclusive: Watch the First Seven Minutes of Tiff Horror Sensation 'Southbound' "V/H/S" (2012)Before the producers of "Southbound" invented their ingenious highway from hell, they first took on this 2012 horror anthology film and got some of the best indie filmmakers in the business, from Ti West to Adam Wingard and Joe Swanberg, to helm each of the film's six terrifying installments. Connecting the anthology's pieces together is a thread in which each installment centers around some kind of video. Wingard's entry, "Tape 56," provides the narrative framing as it follows a group of criminals tasked with breaking and entering into an »

- Zack Sharf

The Indiewire 2015-16 Awards Season Winners Guide

8 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »

Read More: For Your Consideration: The 10 Pre-Oscar Awards Announcements That Could Change This Race Awards season is an overwhelming time of the year. With dozens upon dozens of critic groups and guilds announcing their awards for the best performances and movies of the year, plus the big award galas like the Golden Globes and Academy Awards, the next couple of months are a marathon of year-in-review honors. To make the 2015-16 awards season a bit more manageable, Indiewire will be aggregating all of the year's critic and guild awards to present a winners guide that will list each film's total accomplishments on the awards circuit. Consolidating all of this information into one guide will allow everyone to keep tabs on which films are bringing in the most wins and heading to the front of the Oscar race. Head on over to Thompson On Hollywood! for an updated list of »

- Zack Sharf

'The Revenant' Wins Big At BAFTAs & American Society Of Cinematographers Awards

8 hours ago | The Playlist | See recent The Playlist news »

20th Century Fox is having a pretty good weekend. First, "Deadpool" smashed all kinds of box office records, with an unexpectedly massive opening. And then, "The Revenant," as it heads toward Oscar weekend, snatched up even more awards just a couple of weeks away from the big show. Read More: "This Film Deserves To Be Watched In A Temple": Alejandro González Iñárritu Talks 'The Revenant' On Sunday, the gritty vengeance movie scored five awards from the BAFTAs, including Best Film, with Alejandro G. Iñárritu taking Best Director, Leonardo DiCaprio grabbing Leading Actor, and Emmanuel Lubezki walking away with a Cinematography trophy. Close behind was "Mad Max: Fury Road" which scored four trophies, all in tech categories, with the love spread among a variety of films and performances among the remaining winners. Yesterday evening was also the American Society Of Cinematographers Awards, and »

- Kevin Jagernauth

2016 Oscar Predictions: Best Picture

8 hours ago | Indiewire | See recent Indiewire news »

Read More: Indiewire Awards Season Spotlight After months of speculation and predictions, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have finally announced their nominations for best picture. As expected, Tom McCarthy's early frontrunner "Spotlight" made the cut, and it seems to be taking the same route as "Boyhood" last year in that it is a critically beloved indie that also happens to be relatively small scale and very talkie. While "Spotlight" may seem like the early frontrunner, the drama faces some serious competition from four strong studio nominees, all of which joined the journalism drama as DGA nominees. These titles are "The Big Short" and "The Revenant," both of which have been surging at the box office lately, and the latter of which won three Golden Globes, including best picture, as well as "The Martian" and "Mad Max: Fury Road." Rounding out the nominees are "Bridge of »

- Indiewire