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‘The Right Stuff’ Returns to Honor John Glenn for Limited AMC Theatres Run
8 hours ago
In addition to being a war hero and senator, John Glenn — who passed away late last week at the age of 95 — was an astronaut between 1958 and 1964. That tenure is part of the drama in 1983’s “The Right Stuff,” perhaps the best drama ever made about Nasa (sorry, “Apollo 13”). To honor Glenn, AMC Theatres is re-releasing the film between now and this Thursday, December 15.
Read More: Having ‘The Right Stuff’: Ed Harris and Jeff Goldblum Reflect On the Most Realistic Space Drama
Ed Harris plays Glenn in Philip Kaufman’s film, which is based on Tom Wolfe’s 1979 book of the same name; also aboard the ensemble cast are Charles Frank, Scott Glenn, Lance Henriksen, Scott Paulin, Dennis Quaid, Sam Shepard and Fred Ward. “The Right Stuff” won four Academy awards (Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Original Score) and was nominated for four more, »
- Michael Nordine
‘The Grand Tour’ Surpasses ‘Game of Thrones’ as the Most Illegally Downloaded Show
8 hours ago
Among its many other awards and laurels, “Game of Thrones” has long held the questionable distinction of being the most illegally downloaded TV show. No more. HBO’s high-fantasy drama has now been surpassed on that front by “The Grand Tour,” whose rather expensive pilot episode has been pirated nearly 8 million times since premiering on November 18.
Read More: ‘The Grand Tour’ Review: Jeremy Clarkson Recreates ‘Top Gear’ in America, Because This Is Where Disgraced Reality Stars Thrive
The show, a sort of spiritual successor to the highly successful “Top Gear” starring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, streams on Amazon. Four episodes have been released to date, and though each successive one is said to have been illegally downloaded less than the one before it — 6.4 million downloads for Episode 2, 4.6 million for Episode 3 — the figures are surely much higher than Amazon would like.
Read More: ‘The Grand Tour’ Trailer: Jeremy Clarkson »
- Michael Nordine
50 Cent Says the Golden Globes ‘Can Suck a D—‘ Over ‘Power’ Snub, Wants to Leave Show
9 hours ago
The Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning, and in the hours since we’ve seen a slew of statements from grateful nominees. 50 Cent has released a statement of his own, though it isn’t a happy one. The rapper, actor and producer took to Instagram to express his displeasure that “Power” hadn’t been nominated, stating in no uncertain terms that the Globes “can suck a dick.”
Read More: ‘Power’ Exclusive Clip: Ghost And Tommy Plan Their Next Move In Starz Crime Drama
Fiddy (real name Curtis Jackson) is an executive producer on the Starz drama and also co-stars as Kanan. “I’m on the move again, Golden globe’s can suck a dick,” begins the caption to his Instagram post (below). “I accept my series Power was not intended to be a signature show for the network but it is the highest rated show. I know my audience very well, »
- Michael Nordine
‘American Pastoral’ Exclusive Home Video Release Trailer: Ewan McGregor Does Philip Roth
10 hours ago
This year featured two feature-length adaptations of Philip Roth novels. One was James Schamus’ “Indignation,” based on Roth’s 2008 novel, while the other was Ewan McGregor’s directorial debut “American Pastoral,” based on Roth’s 1997 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
The film starred McGregor himself as Seymour “Swede” Levov, a former high school athlete turned successful businessman with a beauty queen (Jennifer Connelly) as a wife. But when their politically radical daughter Merry (Dakota Fanning) is accused of a violent crime, Swede is forced to make sense of the chaos that is his life. It also stars Rupert Evans (“The Man in the High Castle”), Valorie Curry (“Veronica Mars”), David Strathairn (“Good Night, and Good Luck”) and Uzo Aduba (“Orange Is the New Black”). Watch an exclusive trailer for the film’s home video release below.
Read More: ‘American Pastoral’ Critical Roundup: Reviewers Are Not Impressed By Ewan McGregor’s Directorial Debut »
- Vikram Murthi
‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’: A VFX Creature Guide
10 hours ago
The real stars of J.K. Rowling’s “Fantastic Beasts,” of course, are the creatures themselves.
They’re animated by a gaggle of VFX all-stars: Framestore, Double Negative, Mpc, Image Engine, among others, overseen by production VFX supervisors Christian Manz and Tim Burke.
The mandate from “Harry Potter” veteran director David Yates was not too make the creatures overly fantastical and thereby unrelatable, which is why there are so many distinct animal influences. And originally the VFX supervisors envisioned individual environments for each beast inside the suitcase, but Rowlings suggested that wizard Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) would have to be as powerful as Valdemort to pull that off, so they scaled it way back. Here are a few of the highlights:
The Niffler
This badger-like creature has a penchant for stealing treasure. “He was always going to be a cheeky character that’s always trying to get out to steal stuff and embarrass Newt, »
- Bill Desowitz
‘Rogue One’ Star Ben Mendelsohn Explains Where His New Villain Fits in ‘Star Wars’ Franchise
10 hours ago
Ben Mendelsohn isn’t trying to best the biggest bad guy of all, but he may be getting close with his new turn in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” In the Gareth Edwards feature, the Australian actor stars as Director Orson Krennic, an Imperial bigwig who seems all too happy to carry out the whims of the Empire. But that doesn’t mean he expects to in any way overstep his boundaries, especially when it comes to Darth Vader.
“Well, I think it’s hard to go past Vader,” Mendelsohn recently told IndieWire when asked about where his new character fits in the hierarchy of “Star Wars” villains. “I mean, it’s pretty hard to go past him. It’s hard to think of anyone that tops it, the big guy itself.”
The first standalone film in the ever-expanding “Star Wars” universe follows a group of loosely assembled rebels — including Felicity Jones, »
- Kate Erbland
Elton John and YouTube Launch Global Search to Find New Music Video Directors
10 hours ago
Next year, singer Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of their songwriting partnership. In honor of the occasion, John has teamed up with YouTube for a worldwide search titled “Elton John: The Cut” to find filmmakers to make music videos for three of his hit songs — “Rocket Man,” “Tiny Dancer” and “Bennie and the Jets.” Watch an announcement video featuring John and Taupin below.
Read More: Producers Want Tom Hardy To Play Elton John In Biopic ‘Rocketman’
The competition for each song will focus on different artistic elements: submissions for “Rocket Man” will feature animation; “Tiny Dancer” will be live-action; and “Bennie and the Jets” will feature choreography. John, Taupin and a panel of judges will select three winners, all of whom will also receive $10,000 to support future creative projects. The winning entries are slated to premiere on YouTube in the summer of »
- Vikram Murthi
Vancouver Web Fest Announces Official Selections for Fourth Annual Festival
11 hours ago
In the burgeoning world of festivals that honor achievements in web series and video, the Vancouver Web Fest has emerged as one of the leading destinations for quality web content. Now in its fourth year, the Vancouver-based festival takes place in a city often hailed as the “Hollywood of Canada,” and a popular production destination for film, television, and now web series. The festival will take place March 17-19, 2017, with public screenings, panels from leading industry professionals, and “speed-dating” pitch sessions between creators and developers.
Read More: Dracula-Based Web Series ‘Mina Murray’s Journal’: ‘Doctor Who’ Writer Re-Vamps Vampire Classic
“Vancouver Web Fest creates an experience that brings people together to discover extraordinary digital series and web content from around the world,” writes Executive Director and Founder Suzette Laqua. “It fosters a welcoming environment that encourages exploration into new formats of storytelling.”
Previous panelists have included New Form Digital »
- Jude Dry
‘Billy on the Street’: Aziz Ansari Tells New Yorkers About the Golden Age of Television — Watch
11 hours ago
Billy Eichner is back on the street for the fifth season of his web series-turned-actual show, and in his latest clip he’s brought Aziz Ansari with him. The topic of conversation: the golden age of television, which Eichner and the “Master of None” creator/star loudly tell passersby about on the streets of New York. Watch the latest “Billy on the Street” clip below.
Read More: ‘Billy on the Street’: Lupita Nyong’o Tries Her Hand at Standup Comedy in Hilarious New Clip — Watch
The two are, of course, met with a range of reactions: One woman simply says, “Okay, bye,” in an effort to remove herself from the situation, while another insists, “TV’s horrible,” and that she prefers books. Ansari asks yet another woman whether she’s seen “The Leftovers,” explaining that “Season 1’s pretty good, but Season 2’s supposed to be extraordinary.” (He’s right! »
- Michael Nordine
‘Tangerine’ Gets a Costa Rican Twist In ‘Abrázame Como Antes’ — Review
11 hours ago
Only a small handful of films are produced in Costa Rica every year, and even fewer (if any) are afforded any sort of international distribution. But, however unfortunate that may be, the fluorescent purgatory of Jurgen Ureña’s “Abrázame Como Antes” is made all the more striking by virtue of its uncertain commercial future — Ureña’s second feature is a beautiful micro-portrait of a world that tourists and foreigners may never see, and the movie’s power is only compounded by the unavoidable fact that most tourists and foreigners will never see it.
Borrowing its name from a line in Jeane Manson’s 1979 pop hit “Avant de Nous Dire Adieu,” “Abrázame Como Antes” tells a story that’s canopied beneath the muted evening hum of streetlights and distant cars. The film’s title translates to “Hold Me Like Before,” and every frame of this tender still life buzzes with the »
- David Ehrlich
Black List: Madonna Biopic ‘Blond Ambition’ Leads 2016 Edition
11 hours ago
Seventy-three unproduced screenplays comprise this year’s Black List, an annual ranking of well-regarded scripts that have yet to make the leap from page to screen. More than 250 executives in the film industry voted on this year’s edition, and their consensus is that Elyse Hollander’s Madonna biopic “Blond Ambition” is the “most liked” of them.
Previous screenplays that have appeared on the Black List and gone on to be produced include “Spotlight,” “Arrival” and “Manchester by the Sea.” Full list below:
“Blond Ambition” by Elyse Hollander (48)
“Life Itself” by Dan Fogelman (35)
“The Olympian” by Tony Tost (35)
“The Post” by Liz Hannah (35)
“Voyagers” by Zach Dean (28)
“In the Blink of an Eye” by Colby Day (25)
“O2” by Christie LeBlan (22)
“Untitled Lax Mandis Project” by Seth Spector (22)
“Dark Money” by Matt Fruchtman (21)
“Letters from Rosemary Kennedy” by Nick Yarborough (21)
“Linda and Monica” by Flint Wainess (20)
“Hala” by Minhal Baig (19)
“The »
- Michael Nordine
7 Reasons You Should Be Watching ‘Rectify’ Right Now — No More Excuses
12 hours ago
SundanceTV’s first original series is coming to an end this Wednesday, and a nation mourns. Well, a nation of critics, to be specific. It seems like every critic in the world (or, almost every critic) has been backing Ray McKinnon’s meditative drama since the start, but the viewership has remained relatively small in comparison to its universal praise.
SundanceTV has done everything and then some to grow its viewership, but we’re guessing a few of you just haven’t gotten started yet. Well, now’s your chance. With the series finale set for Wednesday, December 14, now is the perfect time to start watching “Rectify.” Otherwise, it may just slip by you, and that’s simply not a route you want to take.
To help get you over the hump and start bingeing, IndieWire’s Very Good TV Podcast hosted a special episode dedicated to one of this decade’s best shows. »
- Ben Travers
‘The Oa’ Trailer: Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij Reunite for Enigmatic Netflix Series — Watch
12 hours ago
After becoming a Sundance staple with “Sound of My Voice” and “The East,” Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij are bringing their talents to Netflix. The streaming service has just announced the release date for “The Oa,” a new original series co-created and -written by the duo — and it’s this Friday. Watch the just-released trailer below.
Read More: Brit Marling’s Co-Written Drama ‘The Oa’ to Air on Netflix
Marling stars as Prairie Johnson, who returns home seven years after going missing with a new change: her sight has been restored. She’s never actually seen her parents before, and adjusting to that aspect of her life looks to be just one narrative thread here — figuring out how and why any of this happened will surely factor prominently into the plot as well. The vibe of the trailer is very much in keeping with Marling and Batmanglij’s previous collaborations, »
- Michael Nordine
Casey Affleck Reveals He Really Wanted to Be ‘Llewyn Davis’ But Bombed the Audition
13 hours ago
Casey Affleck is wracking up acclaim and awards notices for his performance in “Manchester by the Sea,” including a Golden Globe nomination this morning. But three years ago, Affleck could have landed another role that has received almost universal acclaim: Llewyn Davis in the Coen Brothers’ 2013 film “Inside Llewyn Davis.” As reported by The Film Stage, Affleck revealed on the latest episode of “Wtf with Marc Maron” that he lied to the Coens about being able to sing.
Read More: National Board of Review Names ‘Manchester By the Sea’ Best Film of 2016, Other Winners Include ‘Moonlight’ and ‘Arrival’
“The guy had to sing. He had to sing really, really well,” he says. “The director said, ‘We have to have someone who can really sing and play the guitar.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I can do it.’ I knew I was fucked. When I way saying the words, I knew I couldn’t do it. »
- Vikram Murthi
‘Rogue One’ Star Riz Ahmed On Why His Diverse ‘Star Wars’ Spinoff Is a ‘Different Kind’ of Franchise Film
13 hours ago
When Gareth Edwards’ “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” hits theaters later this week, “Star Wars” fans will finally get to meet a brand new set of characters as they embark on the frequently referred to, yet never previously dramatized mission to steal the Death Star plans. First looks at the so-called gritty war film have played up the more roguish aspects of its diverse new stars, from Felicity Jones as leader Jyn Erso to Diego Luna as rebel higher-up Cassian Endor to Donnie Yen and Jiang Wen as a mysterious (but very clearly dangerous) pair of warriors with their own secrets.
Yet few characters are as intriguing as Riz Ahmed’s Bodhi Rook, a former Imperial pilot who deserts the Empire to join up with the Rebel Alliance, ostensibly to aid in their mission and to get revenge on the nefarious group that previously employed him. It’s a »
- Kate Erbland
HBO Announces Multi-Part Muhammad Ali Documentary From Director Antoine Fuqua
13 hours ago
Antoine Fuqua and LeBron James are partnering on a multi-part Muhammad Ali documentary for HBO. The untitled project will be directed by Fuqua (“Training Day,” “The Magnificent Seven”) and follow the life and career of Ali, who passed away at the age of 74 earlier this year.
“It’s tough to put into words how much it means to me to be a part of this project honoring the legacy and telling the extremely important story of the great Muhammad Ali,” says James in a statement. “He transcended sports and used his platform to empower people, which paved the way for all athletes and people of every race and gender that came after him, myself included.”
“Muhammad Ali meant many things to many people, »
- Michael Nordine
‘Wonder Woman’ Director Patty Jenkins Reveals She First Campaigned for the Film 10 Years Ago
14 hours ago
Director Patty Jenkins is best known for her 2003 biographical crime-drama “Monster,” the indie hit that saw Charlize Theron win the Academy Award for Best Actress, but her career since then has been almost entirely in television. That changed when Jenkins landed the directing job for Warner Bros. “Wonder Woman,” which stars Gal Gadot in the lead role and is set to hit theaters in June 2017.
Read More: ‘Wonder Woman’ Director Patty Jenkins Fights Back Against Anonymous Attack on Film
In a recent interview with THR, Jenkins said she told executives at Warner Bros. that she wanted to make “Wonder Woman” more than 10 years ago.
“I’ve always been moved by the idea of movies that are personal but still have a huge reach,” Jenkins told THR. “‘Superman’ had that effect on me when I was a kid — it rocked my world. That kind of movie was always the brass ring »
- Graham Winfrey
IndieWire and FilmStruck’s ‘Movies That Inspire Me’: Jody Hill Talks Rolling Stones Horror Movie ‘Gimme Shelter’
14 hours ago
The haunting Rolling Stones documentary “Gimme Shelter” helped close the book on the ’60s. Nearly a half-century later, writer/director Jody Hill argues that those terrors remain fresh.
Read More: Watch: ‘Jackie’ Director Pablo Larraín Discusses ‘Movies That Inspire Me’ in New IndieWire Video Series Presented by FilmStruck
Legendary documentary filmmaking duo Albert and David Maysles, along with Charlotte Zwerin, captured the excess and fatal mishandling of the landmark Altamont Free Concert in December 1969. Following the Stones through their American tour and invitation to headline the fateful show, the film eventually embeds itself in the Altamont audience, looking on as a murder plays out beneath the band’s performance.
For our fourth installment in our “Movies That Inspire Me” conversation series, presented in partnership with FilmStruck, we spoke to Hill about how the film slowly unfolds from an impeccably made rock doc into something with a more sinister edge. Hill describes a film that, »
- Steve Greene
In the Age of ‘Lemonade’ and ‘Made In America,’ Should We Still Be Thinking of Film and TV As Different Media? — Critics Survey
14 hours ago
Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)
This week’s question:
Recently, there has been a lot of chatter regarding projects like “O.J.: Made in America” (an eight-hour documentary that was produced by Espn but premiered at Sundance) and “Lemonade” (which needs no prior introduction, and debuted on HBO), and whether they should be classified as films or television shows.
The conversation has only grown more heated and urgent in the shadow of awards season, which demands that things be lumped into a small number of binary categories: Actor / Actress, Comedy / Drama, Fiction / Documentary, Film / Television. In a world where feature films are premiering on Netflix and miniseries-length documentaries are eligible for Oscars, should »
- David Ehrlich
Ralph Fiennes’ Narcissistic Dance Moves Deserve An Oscar In ‘A Bigger Splash’ — Consider This
14 hours ago
Ralph Fiennes is never going to win an Oscar.
He’s too slippery, too snake-like, too hard to pin down. He plays cruelty for laughs, and uses humor to break your heart. He plays supporting roles with the all-consuming intensity of a lead, and lead roles with the evasiveness of someone who’s just passing through. He’s human category fraud.
But if Fiennes gets overlooked for his irrepressible work in Luca Guadagnino’s “A Bigger Splash,” it won’t be because he was submitted in the wrong race; it’ll be because he appears to be having way too much fun for a drama. Nevertheless, his electric turn as barnstorming bon vivant Harry Hawkes is one of 2016’s best performances. It’s a dance-worthy distillation of everything that has made Fiennes such an enduring star over the last two decades, and — for all of its seeming frivolity — it will »
- David Ehrlich
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