Indie News

Lars von Trier returned to Cannes this year after being banned from the festival for 7 years, and immediately infuriated everyone. The film von Trier brought with him, the serial killer drama The House That Jack Built, was derided as needlessly cruel, overly violent, and downright terrible. And now the general public will have a chance […]

The post Controversial ‘The House That Jack Built’ Director’s Cut to Play in Theaters One Night Only appeared first on /Film.

Neon has acquired the North American rights to Bong Joon-Ho’s family drama “Parasite” from Cj Entertainment.

The drama marks Bong’s comeback to Korean-language film following “Okja” and “Snowpiercer.” It’s also his fourth collaboration with Song Kang-Ho, who starred in “Snowpiercer,” “The Host,” and “Memories of Murder.”

“Parasite” also marks Bong’s fifth collaboration with Neon CEO Tom Quinn, who released “Snowpiercer” while at the helm of Radius. “Snowpiercer” grossed $86.8 million at the worldwide box office in 2013.

Bong directed “Parasite” from his own script. The film followed two families who were worlds apart yet somewhat alike, portraying a striking reality of the world we live in. The movie, which just wrapped production, also stars Lee Sun-Kyun, Cho Yeo-Jeong, Choi Woo-Shik, and Park So-Dam.

“We’re very excited to partner with Tom Quinn and the team at Neon,” Bong said. “It’s like reuniting a great team of old friends.

Netflix has succumbed to awards season pressure and is finally doing the right thing. Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma” will be released in theaters before hitting the streaming service. This is a major change from the day and date model Netflix has used in the past for films such as “Mudbound” and “Private Life.” In a surprise, however, it’s not the only awards-worthy film getting a traditional theatrical release. The Coen Brothers’ “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” and Susanne Bier’s “Bird Box” will also receive in theater runs before hitting Netflix worldwide.

Continue reading Netflix Officially Releasing ‘Roma,’ ‘Ballad of Buster Scruggs’ & ‘Bird Box’ In Theaters at The Playlist.

Watching a visually spectacular but virtually soulless new family movie like “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” it’s tempting to wonder if such eye-popping dreck has any hope of sticking with impressionable young audiences. Is there any chance that the kids of today might be nostalgic for this hyper-saturated nonsense tomorrow?

It’s a sincere question about a film that often seems like it was only made or Disney shareholders. Is this really that much worse than the stuff that millennials were raised on, and read about on Buzzfeed lists, and flock to see at semi-ironic repertory screenings? In a world where “Hocus Pocus” has become something of a genuine holiday classic, is it actually possible to gauge how good the studio offerings of 2018 might look 20 years from now? Judging by “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” the answer to both of those queries is a resounding “yes.”

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Even when it’s not Halloween, who doesn’t want to be a witch? “Full Frontal” host Samantha Bee and fellow staffers Ashley Nicole Black and Allana Harkin put on their holiday best to put a fresh spin on a classic “Macbeth” scene.

Gathered around a cauldron to brew up a big pot of parts from all manner of creatures, the trio each toss in one very specific item. (Hint: it’s the same specific item that was once spray-painted over a bunch of cars in an Oceanside high school staff parking lot.) It’s a “Hocus Pocus” riff that adds in a little revenge against the patriarchy with all the newts and pigtails and such.

As for what happens after, the rest of tonight’s installment is “actually an all-boo episode because nothing is scarier than our current reality. We’ll be checking in on America’s horrifying history of antisemitism and,

With opening credits that show Little Red Riding Hood being raped by the Big Bad Wolf, “Tell Me a Story” is about as fun and understated as you might expect. The new CBS All Access series from Kevin Williamson, master of dark and icky shows like “Stalker” and “The Following,” attempts to twist classic fairy tales into his dark and icky mindset (never mind that these stories are already pretty grim). When viewed through their fairy-tale origins, the tales are laughably contrived. As standalone stories, they’re as ugly as they are trite.

Season 1 focuses on “The Three Little Pigs,” “Hansel and Gretel,” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” Sam (Dorian Missick), Eddie (Paul Wesley), and Mitch (Michael Raymond-James) stand in as the not-so-little pigs, forming a hapless gang of jewelry store robbers whose story bookends the premiere. Presumably, Eddie is going through with the heist to fix his leaky roof

Now that Netflix’s $20-million Mexican art film “Roma” could be a Best Picture contender as well as a likely foreign-language Oscar-winner, the global streaming service is finally overhauling its theatrical release strategy. It will include exclusive platform openings in New York and Los Angeles on Wednesday, November 21, with more cities added December 7 ahead of its streaming and wider theatrical release on December 14.

It took a black-and-white, 65mm, Dolby Atmos, Spanish-language, semi-autobiographical personal journey back to 1971 Mexico City for Best-Director winner Alfonso Cuarón (“Gravity”) to push the streaming giant back to the future. “Roma” has played the fall film festival circuit from Mill Valley, Calif. to Middleburg, Va., ever since the film’s August Venice debut, where Cuarón won the Golden Lion. Under pressure from the filmmaker, Netflix is showing the movie on the big screen to as many audiences as possible — along with Netflix’s new animated logo. That

In “Border,” Swedish actress Eva Melander buries herself in the role of Tina, an ostracized woman who feels out of place in society because of her otherworldly appearance. The peculiar creature she plays in director Ali Abbasi’s foreign-language Oscar submission suggests the unholy offspring of Quasimodo and a Tolkien Orc. But that’s just the starting point for an entrancing and unexpected love story when Tina — who works a lonely job in border security, using her rat-like sense of smell — wakes up to her superpowers when she meets a fawning man (Eero Milonoff) who looks just like her.

This dark fairytale owes much to its leading lady’s remarkable physical transformation, but audiences gripped by “Border” would never recognize its star on the street.

In reality, Melander is an affable, soft-spoken, 43-year-old acting veteran who has juggled a range of stage, television and film roles for over 15 years. The

Rebel Wilson is ready for her “I Feel Pretty” moment. The Australian comedian best known for her roles in “Bridesmaids” and the “Pitch Perfect” franchise will step into the lead for “Isn’t It Romantic?,” a romantic comedy parody slated for a Valentine’s Day theatrical run. Fellow Aussie Liam Hemsworth plays opposite Wilson, who stars as a woman who hits her head and wakes up only able to see the world through rom-com-colored glasses. The new trailer plays like a meta rom-com that plays satirically with many of the tropes of the genre.

As the synopsis reads: “New York City architect Natalie works hard to get noticed at her job but is more likely to be asked to deliver coffee and bagels than to design the city’s next skyscraper. And if things weren’t bad enough, Natalie, a lifelong cynic when it comes to love, has an encounter

It’s the witching hour. And there is no better time to revisit Dario Argento‘s Giallo horror “Suspiria.” As the remake expands nationwide in the coming weeks, audiences will have the opportunity to experience director Luca Guadagnino‘s interpretation of the cult classic horror. Dabbling in the occult, and trimming down the lurid facade, Guadagnino’s “Suspiria” looks the exact antithesis of Argento’s nightmarish, psychedelic trip.

Continue reading Remaking ‘Suspiria:’ New Video Essay Explores Argento’s Classic Film And How The Remake Pays Homage at The Playlist.

On November 1, the 2018 IndieWire Honors ceremony will celebrate eight filmmakers and actors for their achievement in creative independence. We’re showcasing their work with new interviews this week.

Natalie Portman is one of the most respected actresses in Hollywood, but has no problem acknowledging an acting record that’s far from spotless. “It takes the fear out of the risk a little more,” she said. “I’ve been in stuff that didn’t work and it didn’t kill me.”

Portman’s willingness to swing for edgy and unorthodox material helps explain a lot about her work in recent years, from her Oscar-winning achievement as a disturbed ballerina in “Black Swan,” to her commanding Jacqueline Kennedy in “Jackie,” and her latest turn in writer-director Brady Corbet’s “Vox Lux.”

The sprawling narrative finds her playing a narcissistic pop star who embodies the worst of America’s celebrity-obsessed culture. Portman was

It’s Halloween, and film fans may be trying to figure out what movies to watch to celebrate the occasion. Well, lucky for us, some of the best filmmakers in the world have revealed their favorite horror film moments and it provides a pretty great list of what films to enjoy.

Edgar Wright, Alice Lowe, Karyn Kusama, Anna Biller, and Panos Cosmatos spoke to the Guardian recently and explain why the five moments they’ve chosen are the five scariest ever put to film.

Continue reading Edgar Wright, Karyn Kusama, Panos Cosmatos & More Reveal The Scariest Horror Film Scenes Of All Time at The Playlist.

In his book Making Movies, Sidney Lumet wrote that he once asked fellow director Akira Kurosawa why he’d framed a shot in his period epic Ran in a particular way. Kurosawa replied that if he’d panned the camera an inch to the left he would’ve seen a Sony factory. Panning an inch to the right would’ve revealed an airport. I don’t know if Halloween cinematographer Michael Simmonds has read Lumet’s book, but after chatting with him I’m confident he would appreciate that anecdote. Simmonds, whose diverse credits range from the horror sequel Paranormal Activity 2 to the acclaimed documentary Project […]

In his book Making Movies, Sidney Lumet wrote that he once asked fellow director Akira Kurosawa why he’d framed a shot in his period epic Ran in a particular way. Kurosawa replied that if he’d panned the camera an inch to the left he would’ve seen a Sony factory. Panning an inch to the right would’ve revealed an airport. I don’t know if Halloween cinematographer Michael Simmonds has read Lumet’s book, but after chatting with him I’m confident he would appreciate that anecdote. Simmonds, whose diverse credits range from the horror sequel Paranormal Activity 2 to the acclaimed documentary Project […]

It should come as no surprise that Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise like to collaborate on films. After multiple successful ventures, including the two best “Mission: Impossible” films, “Jack Reacher,” and “Edge of Tomorrow,” McQuarrie seems to enjoy writing (and sometimes directing) for Cruise. And it doesn’t appear that’s going to end anytime soon, as Cruise says that McQuarrie is back for some “Top Gun” action.

Continue reading ‘Top Gun 2’: Tom Cruise Confirms Writer Christopher McQuarrie Is Feeling The Need For Speed at The Playlist.

Running film festivals is a scary business so perhaps it’s fitting that Film Independent announced the end of the Los Angeles Film Festival (also known as La Film Festival) on Halloween. In a release, Film Independent, the organization that has run both Laff and the Independent Spirit Awards, announced last month’s festival would be its last and they will fill in the gap moving forward with “year-round events aimed at building community and broadening its support of visual storytellers.” Which, frankly, sounds like what it was already doing in the first place.

Continue reading Los Angeles Film Festival Shockingly Says Goodbye at The Playlist.

The latest spin on the romantic comedy genre comes from star Rebel Wilson and her upcoming film “Isn’t It Romantic?” The film decides that the best, funniest take on the typical rom-com is a meta-commentary on the genre, poking fun at typical tropes while simultaneously embracing them for comedic value. And as we’ve seen in recent rom-coms like “I Feel Pretty,” all this is the result of a bonk on the head.

Continue reading ‘Isn’t It Romantic?’ Trailer: Rebel Wilson Provides A Meta-Commentary On Rom-Coms After A Bonk On The Head at The Playlist.

Jon Stewart was the face of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” for 16 years, and during that time he got a valuable lesson on the institutionalized sexism taking place in the comedy industry. The comedian recently appeared opposite Dave Chappelle for an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and remembered a time during his run as “Daily Show” host when he got personally criticized for his all-male writing staff.

“There was an article about [‘The Daily Show’] that said it was a sexist environment, we didn’t have women writers. And I got very offended by that. I was very mad. I was like, ‘Are you saying I’m not a feminist?’ I was raised by a single mother. She wore a T-shirt that said, ‘A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.’ And me and my brother were like, ‘I think we might be men?’ So

The Los Angeles Film Festival is no more. Film Independent announced today that this year’s edition, which ran from September 20–28, will be its last and that the organization (which also hosts the Spirit Awards) will now focus on year-round events. 2018 marked a turning point for Laff, which had traditionally taken place in the summer.

“We took a hard look at the healthy growth of Film Independent’s year-round programs and events over the past six years: the Spirit Awards, our film series curated by Elvis Mitchell, membership, labs, workshops, filmmaker grants and international programs,” Mary Sweeney, Chair of the Film Independent Board of Directors, said in a statement. “In the end, we concluded that the organization should explore a more nimble, sustainable form of exhibiting and celebrating independent film artists year round.”

“While we are very proud of what we’ve accomplished with the La Film Festival over the past eighteen years,

Mathew Cullen isn’t haven’t a great week. And honestly, if everything were to go as originally planned, this would be a time of celebration for the director. Instead, after a delay of more than three years, Cullen’s feature film debut “London Fields” posted one of the worst box office debuts in history and has a terrible 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. And in a new interview, surprisingly, Cullen not only agrees with those reviews but also explains why he chose to be the scapegoat for the film’s failure.

Continue reading ‘London Fields’ Director Talks Terrible Reviews & Bts Drama: “I’ve Read The Reviews. I Agree With Them” at The Playlist.