Slash Film
‘Maniac’ Remake Red-Band Trailer: You’ve Never Seen Elijah Wood So Creepy
William Lustig’s Maniac, released in 1980, is not a nice movie. It is an exploitation classic; a weird, super-creepy story of a very damaged man (originally played by Joe Spinell) who kills women as a way to articulate rage towards his deceased mother. It is dirty but effective, and
A Maniac remake shot recently with Elijah Wood in the lead role, and it doesn’t look like a nice movie, either. In fact, this version from director Franck Khalfoun (P2, Wrong Turn at Tahoe) and writers Alexandre Aja, Grégory Levasseur & C.A. Rosenberg looks dirty and ugly in just the way you’d expect a film called Maniac to be.
The film is selling in Cannes now, and a sales teaser trailer has shown up online. This one is definitely not safe for work, thanks in part to nudity, but more for violence and general creepiness. One shot of a victim of Wood’s character towards the end of the teaser is really queasy.
We’ve heard a bit about how big portions of this film will be from the central character’s POV (as in parts of the original) and this teaser shows off some of that approach. It is difficult to tell how well Wood does in the central role, and I don’t know what to think about the slightly more glamorous look of this footage. The original film is very grimy, which was appropriate for the story. This version seems to be a lot more pretty, admittedly in a stylistically shady fashion. I don’t know how that will work; will a more appealing aesthetic make the film more powerful, or simply more exploitative?
Maniac is showing at Cannes; it has no release date at this point.
Just when the streets seemed safe, a serial killer with a fetish for scalps is back and on the hunt. Frank is the withdrawn owner of a mannequin store, but his life changes when young artist Anna appears asking for his help with her new exhibition. As their friendship develops and Frank’s obsession escalates, it becomes clear that she has unleashed a long-repressed compulsion to stalk and kill.
[Cannes, via FirstShowing]
‘Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For’ Will Be Released in October 2013
Dimension Films has announced an October 4th 2013 release date for their Sin City sequel Frank Miller’s Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. Read the full press release after the jump.
FRANK MILLER’S SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR IN THEATERS NATIONWIDE ON OCTOBER 4, 2013
ORIGINAL CAST MEMBERS MICKEY ROURKE AND JESSICA ALBA RETURN FOR THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SEQUEL
New York, NY (14 May 2012) — Dimension Films announced today that the highly anticipated sequel FRANK MILLER’S SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR will open nationwide on October 4, 2013. Casting is underway, with original cast members returning to work with directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, from their script co-written by Academy Award® winner William Monahan . Academy Award® nominee Mickey Rourke and Jessica Alba are already confirmed to return.
The script and details of the film’s story are being kept tightly under wraps. The remaining cast will be announced shortly with some huge names expected to fill the roles of Sin Ciy’s newest characters yet to be seen on the big screen.
The original SIN CITY broke new ground with its iconic stylish look and grossed over $160 million worldwide. FRANK MILLER’S SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR will not only bring fans back to the world that Rodriguez and Miller created, but will also add a new dimension by bringing their unique visual style to life in 3D.
The film will be released by Dimension Films in the US and Canada, and produced by Quick Draw Productions, AR Films, Miramax and Solipsist.
Aldamisa International’s C.O.O. Jere Hausfater and President of International Sales and Distribution Nadine de Barros and will oversee international sales for this project at the Cannes Film Festival.
The film is expected to begin production this summer at Robert Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios in Austin, Texas.
About The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films
The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films in 1979. TWC also encompasses Dimension Films, the genre label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein, which has released such popular franchises as SCREAM, SPY KIDS and SCARY MOVIE. Together TWC and Dimension Films have released a broad range of mainstream, genre and specialty films that have been commercial and critical successes. TWC releases took home eight 2012 Academy Awards®, the most wins in the studio’s history. The tally included Best Picture for Michel Hazanavicius’s THE ARTIST and Best Documentary Feature for TJ Martin and Dan Lindsay’s UNDEFEATED. THE ARTIST brought TWC its second consecutive Best Picture statuette following the 2011 win for Tom Hooper’s THE KING’S SPEECH.
Since 2005, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as GRINDHOUSE; I’M NOT THERE; THE GREAT DEBATERS; VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA; THE READER; THE ROAD; HALLOWEEN; THE PAT TILLMAN STORY; PIRANHA 3D; INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS; A SINGLE MAN; BLUE VALENTINE; THE COMPANY MEN; MIRAL; SCRE4M; SUBMARINE; DIRTY GIRL; APOLLO 18; OUR IDIOT BROTHER; I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT; SARAH’S KEY; SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD IN 4D; MY WEEK WITH MARILYN; and THE IRON LADY. Currently in release are THE ARTIST; CORIOLANUS; W.E.; UNDEFEATED; and BULLY. Upcoming releases include THE INTOUCHABLES and PIRANHA 3DD. Recently wrapped was SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, and currently in production is DJANGO UNCHAINED.
TWC is also active in television production, led by former Miramax Films President of Production and current President of Television Meryl Poster, with credits including the Emmy® nominated and Peabody Award winning reality series Project Runway, spin-off series Project Accessory and Project Runway All Stars, the VH1 reality series Mob Wives, and the critically acclaimed HBO comedy/crime series The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency which also received a Peabody Award. The company is currently in pre-production on the martial-arts epic Marco Polo for Starz as well as production on the second season of Mob Wives and the newest installment in the series’ franchise Mob Wives Chicago. TWC additionally has 17 series in different stages of development, including The Nanny Diaries, being adapted for ABC by Amy Sherman Palladino (Gilmore Girls).
About Miramax
Miramax is a leading worldwide film and television studio with a library of more than 700 motion pictures. Miramax sells directly and licenses its titles globally through strategic partnerships including: Lionsgate, Netflix, Facebook, Hulu and StudioCanal. The Miramax library holds some of the world’s most original and acclaimed independent films including Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love, Chicago, Good Will Hunting, The English Patient, No Country for Old Men, Kill Bill Volumes I and II, Life is Beautiful Reservoir Dogs, Sex, Lies and Videotape, Cinema Paradiso and My Left Foot – as well as scores of commercially successful films such as Bridget Jones’s Diary, Bad Santa, and the Scream, Hellraiser, Scary Movie and Spy Kids franchises. In 2011, Miramax released three new films including the critically acclaimed film The Debt, starring Helen Mirren and Jessica Chastain, directed by John Madden. Collectively, the Miramax library has received 284 Academy Award nominations and 68 Oscars, including four Best Picture awards.
Miramax is headquartered in Santa Monica, California with a sales office in London. For more information, please visit www.miramax.com, “like” the company on www.facebook.com/miramax, and follow Miramax on Twitter @Miramax.
About AR Films
AR Films was founded by Alexander Rodnyansky in 2009. Through AR Films, Rodnyansky controls one of the biggest film licensing and distribution corporations in Central and Eastern Europe, A-Company; the Russian film production company Non-Stop Production; a major distributor of independent films in Russia, Cinema Without Frontiers; and the most important film festival in Russia, Kinotavr.
Rodnyansky, a renowned documentary director, is also one of the most successful movie producers in Russia. His films have received critical acclaim from the leading international film festivals; the latest – Elena, directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev — received a Special Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard, as well as more than a dozen international awards, including four Golden Eagle Awards from the Russian National Academy of Film. Elena most recently screened in the Spotlight section at Sundance 2012, and will be released in the U.S. in May.
AR Films’ most recent projects are English-language films made in the U.S.: Jayne Mansfield’s Car, co-written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton; and Goat Island, adapted and directed by DJ Caruso. Jayne Mansfield’s Car made its world premiere at the 2012 Berlinale.
About Quick Draw Productions
In 2010, writer/producer/director Robert Rodriguez launched Quick Draw Productions, a development, production and financing company, giving the filmmaker capabilities to develop and produce his own media projects across film, television, gaming and interactive platforms while closely controlling the creative process.
About Aldamisa International
Aldamisa International was formed in 2011 by producer and attorney Sergei Bespalov. Aldamisa International and parent company Aldamisa Entertainment produce, acquire, finance and manage worldwide sales for a diverse slate of films. AR Films U.S. is party to a joint venture between the Bespalovs and producer Alexander Rodnysansky. Aldamisa International represents AR Films U.S.’s projects for sale worldwide.
Tom Whalen’s ‘Breaking Bad’ Art: ‘Hector Salamanca’
Ding. Ding. Ding. The ominous sound of Hector Salamanca’s bell is one of the most frightening and iconic things in AMC’s hit show Breaking Bad. The bell is also the subject of the second poster in the Breaking Bad Art Project. Created by Tom Whalen, the slightly abstract poster takes a second to sink in but, once it does, all you’ll hear is that terrifyingly simple sound.
Check out the full image after the jump and read how you can buy it.
If you’ve been following the Breaking Gifs viral, you noticed a tweet sending people to Ink Sack in Los Angeles, CA. There all purchases came in a Los Pollos Hermanos bag, complete with small blue prize inside, and the URL: whydontyoutrustthemtio.com. Revealing this image.
The reveal happened at 11 a.m. PST so, if it’s anything like the Lost viral, it’ll likely go on sale in the next few hours.
BreakingGifs.com is viral campaign to promote the upcoming final season of Breaking Bad on AMC. Curated and run by Tyson Givens and Gallery 1988, each week the site will link to a new piece of Breaking Bad themed art by well-known and up and coming artists, all leading up to the show’s premiere this Summer.
Here’s a link back to the first piece by Daniel Danger. What’s in store next week?
First Look: ‘Taken 2′
20th Century Fox has finally released the first photos from Taken 2. Director Olivier Megaton‘s (Colombiana, Transporter 3) follow-up takes a twist on the original as Maggie Grace must help rescue Liam Neeson‘s character Bryan Mills after “associates of the villains he killed the first time around decide to get their revenge.” I saw some early footage at CinemaCon and it looked much better than it sounds (for example, Grace’s character isn’t turned into a complete badass Sarah Conner-type, and fun is had with her inabilities). Hit the jump to check out the first photos from the action sequel, along with a quote from Neeson.
Neeson explains to EW the beginning of Taken 2:
“The action is supposed to take place about a year or a year and a half after the first story. It’s a very clever sequel with the usual thrills and spills, but the ante is upped quite a bit in this one.” … “I’ve taken a job over in Istanbul looking after a sheik who is there, and afterward I discover that my wife’s going through a very bad time with her new husband. So I suggest she and my daughter come over for a few days and hang out with me in this amazing city. And then… [laughs] all this s—t happens, of course.” … “I’m taken — let’s put it that way. They kidnap him to humiliate him, torture him, and ultimately bring him back to the village in Albania where the boys from the original film came from. With the help of my daughter… she wants to help me escape from where these bad guys have me.”
Read the full interview on EW.com.
Greg Mottola in Talks to Direct Semi-Improvised Larry David Comedy
Greg Mottola‘s schedule is quickly filling up. Earlier this week, the Superbad helmer signed on to adapt the Jeffrey Eugenides novel The Marriage Plot for producer Scott Rudin. Now he’s entered talks to helm something completely different: an untitled comedy for Fox Searchlight, with Curb Your Enthusiasm creator/star and Seinfeld co-creator Larry David in negotiations to star. More details after the jump.
The plot of the new film is being kept under wraps for now, but we do know that it will be partially improvised a la Curb Your Enthusiasm. THR reports that David came up with the idea himself and has already begun hashing it out with co-writers Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer, and David Mandel, who’ve previously worked with David on Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. In addition, the trio are just coming off of Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator, so they should have a pretty good (pretty, pretty, pretty good) idea of how to handle a semi-improvised storyline like this one. All four men are set to produce, along with Bradley Thomas.
Although David has enjoyed a successful career in television for three decades, with Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm as his crowning achievements, he has only made very occasional forays into film. His only big-screen leading role to date was in Woody Allen’s 2009 comedy Whatever Works. More recently, he made a cameo appearance in the Farrelly brothers’ The Three Stooges, playing Sister Mary-Mengele.
While Mottola isn’t quite as experienced with David’s style of semi-improv, he has a strong comedy background, having helmed episodes of shows like Undeclared and Arrested Development and movies like Superbad and Paul. As of yesterday, Mottola was eyeing the possibility of directing The Marriage Plot, but with this new comedy on his plate we’ll have to see how the timing works out. Both projects sound very promising, so here’s hoping he can somehow make room for both.
Eli Roth’s Returns to Directing Will Be ‘The Green Inferno’
Briefly: The last time Eli Roth had has name in the director’s credit of a feature film was Hostel: Part II, released in 2007. Roth has stayed in the game as a producer, and did a little work for Quentin Tarantino in Inglourious Basterds, all while talking about various possible directorial opportunities.
Now Roth has a new film lined up: The Green Inferno, which he co-wrote with Guillermo Amoedo, from Roth’s own story. Roth recently produced an earthquake thriller called Aftershock in South America; Amoedo was a co-writer on that film. (We showed you the first stills from Aftershock earlier this year.)
While a press release flew out of Cannes today announcing that Worldview Entertainment has financed the film, there are no story details revealed at this point, and no casting. We know that, like Aftershock, the film will shoot in Peru and Chile, with production set to begin this fall.
‘Skyfall’ Teaser Poster Turns the London Underground Into a Weapon
We’ve seen quite a few stills from the new James Bond film, Skyfall, but even after those and a couple set visits that have revealed some details of the film’s plot, the crew promoting Sam Mendes‘ first take on the Bond franchise has kept the big details quiet. The teaser trailer has been seen only at CinemaCon so far, and will hit the web on Monday May 21st at 8.30am BST.
In advance of that reveal, the film’s first teaser poster has gone online today, and in well-established teaser mode, it doesn’t reveal much. It does feature the classic Bond rifled gun barrel, with Daniel Craig strolling forward in a composition that echoes the fact that part of the film takes place in the tube tunnels beneath London.
See the full image below.
This arrives thanks to 007.com.
Skyfall also features Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Berenice Malohe and Naomie Harris as the primary cast. Release is set in Europe for October 26th, 2012, with the film hitting the US on November 9th.
Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
Page 2: Star Wars, Magic Mike, Ted, Expendables 2, Nicolas Cage, Doctor Who, Pulp Fiction, Harry Potter, Back to the Future, Game of Thrones, Cars, Brave, Drive,
What is Page 2? Page 2 is a compilation of stories and news tidbits, which for whatever reason, didn’t make the front page of /Film. After the jump we’ve included 48 different items, fun images, videos, casting tidbits, articles of interest and more. It’s like a mystery grab bag of movie web related goodness. If you have any interesting items that we might’ve missed that you think should go in /Film’s Page 2 – email us!
Header Photo: AT-AT Imperial Walker for Geeky Grandpas and Grandmas
The definitive spec script database: 1991-2012
EW‘s Magic Mike Striptease Cover
Top 10 Best Unknown Film Festivals
Watch Aaron Morgan‘s one minute, very low-fi ($300 budget) proof of concept created for THE HOME back in 2010.
Game of Thrones gearing up to begin filming Season 3, looking for extras in Ireland
New TED poster.
John Cusack In Talks To Join Elijah Wood In ‘Speed‘-Esque Thriller ‘Grand Piano‘
A fan poster for Expendables 2 starring Nicolas Cage, and only, Nicolas Cage.
Judd Apatow Reviews 100 Years of Comic Gems That Birthed ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin‘
Continue Reading Page 2 >>TV Previews: ABC’s ’666 Park Avenue’, CBS’ ‘Vegas’ and ‘Elementary’
Thanks to upfronts, all the networks have been flooding the Internet with previews for their new series. Earlier this week, we got a peek at some of NBC’s upcoming offerings, and today we have glimpses of a few select shows from CBS and ABC.
Specifically, that means CBS’ Vegas, directed by James Mangold, co-written by Nicholas Pileggi, and starring Dennis Quaid; CBS’ Elementary, a contemporary Sherlock Holmes twist featuring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu; and ABC’s 666 Park Avenue, from creator David Wilcox (Life on Mars) and stars Terry O’Quinn and Vanessa Williams. Hit the jump to watch the videos.
First up, here’s a look at 666 Park Avenue. The intense stars of Lost (O’Quinn) and Ugly Betty (Williams) are the husband-and-wife owners of a Manhattan luxury apartment complex with some sinister, supernatural secrets. Dave Annable and Rachael Taylor kick off the action as the building’s newest tenants.
This looks totally ridiculous. Whether that’s in a good way or a bad way remains to be seen, but I’m rooting for this to become the network’s next guilty pleasure. 666 Park Avenue will air on Sundays this fall.
Now let’s head over to CBS. Vegas stars Quaid a rodeo cowboy turned sheriff in the ’60s, who struggles with a newly arrived Chicago mobster (Michael Chiklis) trying to carve out a niche for himself in the American Southwest. Incredibly, it’s actually based on the true story of Clark County’s longest-serving sheriff, Ralph Lamb. Jason O’Mara and Carrie-Anne Moss also star, while Mangold directs and Pileggi (GoodFellas) and Greg Walker (Without a Trace) write.
Well, it’s certainly a different ’60s from the one we’ve been watching on Mad Men. I wish they’d change the generic-sounding name, but otherwise this seems fairly promising.
This last one’s just for you Sherlock fans. I am sure many of you will be greatly irritated to see that CBS has developed its own modern-day take on the classic character. Titled Elementary, it features Miller in the central role and Liu as his trusty sidekick.
Let’s be real: Miller is no Benedict Cumberbatch. That said, the character’s gone through so many iterations over the years that it seems unfair to get upset at yet another reinterpretation. It obviously makes no sense to judge the entire series at this point, so I’ll file this one under “wait and see.”
Discuss: Which of the upcoming fall series are you most looking forward to?
Morgan Freeman to Party With Michael Douglas and Robert De Niro in ‘Last Vegas’
While youth tends to rule in Hollywood, the next pack of legendary onscreen partiers looks to be neither the rowdy teens of the Project X films nor the thirtysomethings of The Hangover franchise, but the senior citizens of Last Vegas. Morgan Freeman has just joined Robert De Niro and Michael Douglas in the “Grumpy Old Men meets The Hangover” comedy, directed by Jon Turteltaub (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice) from a script by Dan Fogelman (Crazy, Stupid, Love.). More details after the jump.
The story centers around four baby boomer buddies who gather in Sin City for the bachelor party of one of their number, a lifelong playboy who’s finally settling down with a woman half his age. CBS Films acquired Fogelman’s script in a seven-figure deal way back in 2008, and for the last few years has been trying to get the project off the ground. Jack Nicholson was offered a role back in 2010, but is not currently attached. Turteltaub came on board last fall.
Details on which character Freeman is currently negotiating for has not been revealed, though it seems reasonable to guess he’ll be one of the central quartet. Meanwhile, Douglas is signed on to play bachelor Billy (the part Nicholson was originally up for), and De Niro will be part-averse widower Paddy. That just leaves one last member of the group up for grabs. Rumor has it Christopher Walken is circling the part, but if that doesn’t pan out, I bet Al Pacino or Michael Caine can expect a call sometime soon.
Though the Last Vegas characters are described as “semi-retired,” its stars certainly aren’t. Freeman has two films due out this summer — Rob Reiner’s The Magic of Belle Isle and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises — and is just coming off of filming for Louis Leterrier’s magician heist thriller Now You See Me. He’s since moved on to shooting Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion, opposite Tom Cruise. With the addition of Freeman, the Last Vegas cast now consists of three Oscar winners, with an average age of 69.7.
Help Make New Beverly Documentary A Reality
No matter where you live, you’ve likely heard of The New Beverly Cinema. It’s a repertory house in Los Angeles, CA, partially owned by Quentin Tarantino, that has some of the best programming in the world: $8 double features, frequent Q&A, films programmed by famous filmmakers, Mondo events, you name it and the New Beverly has done it.
For example, tonight they’re playing Dog Day Afternoon and Network. Over the next week they’ll play Federico Fellini’s I Vitelloni paired with films it influenced like Mean Streets, American Graffiti and Diner. Next week, a David Lynch retrospective begins. Come on now.
One of the theater’s employees is raising money to make a documentary about the historic theater that’ll hopefully ensure the theater stays around for years to come. But they need the help of film fans everywhere. The film is tentavely called Out of Print and you can read more about it, and donate to its KickStarter campaign, by clicking that link.
After the jump, check out the list of interviews lined up and more.
Julia Marchese, the employee and director of the film, has already lined up interviews with the following directors who are all frequent attendees and contributors to the theater.
- Kevin Smith
- Edgar Wright
- Joe Carnahan
- Rian Johnson
- Joe Dante
- Stuart Gordon
- Patton Oswalt
- Mark Romanek
- Tom Holland
- John Landis
- Fred Dekker
- Allison Anders
So what are you waiting for? Donate now. Here’s the Kickstarter link again.
And here’s a blurb about the film the film:
What would you give to preserve the rich history of cinema? Help us to preserve the cinema stories and experiences from the past century.
When we lose the rich tapestry of roots, we lose something very important. Nostalgic is a vital, life-giving thing.
My name is Julia Marchese and I am making a documentary that cherishes my favorite place in the entire world - The New Beverly Cinema.
At the New Beverly Cinema, a double feature still only costs $8. It’s a nostalgic cinema going experience from a time long forgotten. At the New Bev cinema friendly staff greet you; their employees genuinely love film and more that happy to discuss the movies and to recommend an old flick that you really must see.
Do you remember your first movie going experience? What was it like?
This is an important documentary, a passion project that aims to protect and cherish your movie memories, by protecting revival cinemas like the New Beverly, which play a vital and important role in keeping the old memories alive and available in our rapidly changing world.??At the New Beverly, it’s not about the money; it’s all about the movies and the people who love them.??Here’s the crazy thing, your movie memories are under siege and the threat is real and imminent. Revival theatres like the New Beverly are now an endangered species. We must act now to save the cinemas and protect our past.
This documentary must be made and the time to make it is now. Why?
The Major Studios (the owners of the old films) have recently written a letter promising to withdraw their 35mm prints. Last year I started a petition last year asking studios to let their film prints remain available to revival theaters indefinitely. I successfully raised 10,000 signatures from movie lovers in over 60 countries around the world.
This documentary plus the support of movie lovers from around the globe, will petition the studios to see sense and to truly value the rich history of the cinema going experience. With your help we can preserve a little bit of our past and share it with the generations that are to come.
Your donation will be allowing us to work with - and pay fairly - a crew that we know and trust, to use professional equipment, to produce quality feature length documentary that will screen at revival cinemas all around the world.
We have passion and we have the talent, we just need your support.
It’s important, because your memories matter, not just to you but to the future generation of cinema lovers. The time to make this film is now.
‘The Possession’ Trailer: New Horror Full of Great Old Curses
A whole lot of the supernatural horror/thrillers that have shown up in the past few years haven’t been terribly inspired; the intersection between budget, ideas and real scares rarely seems to be at the right point.
But The Possession looks like it might be a bit different. Based on an LA Times article called ‘Jinx in a Box‘ and originally titled Dibbuk Box, the film features Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick, Madison Davenport and Natasha Calis in a story about a young girl who awakens an old evil. The title of the film may be all too generic, but the trailer actually looks quite creepy. And I’ll say this: it’s got a pretty great kicker shot.
So there’s a solid grounding in family life here, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan coming across like a pretty grounded dad. But once the horror begins, there are some really lovely/horrifying visions there. The manifestations of evil are time honored, but displayed really well. And the x-ray scene is crazy, but restrained. There’s some style here, and I’m happy to see a studio horror film that isn’t only concerned with doing things on the cheap.Yahoo has the trailer. The Possession opens on August 31.
Clyde and Stephanie Brenek see little cause for alarm when their youngest daughter Em becomes oddly obsessed with an antique wooden box she purchased at a yard sale. But as Em’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic, the couple fears the presence of a malevolent force in their midst, only to discover that the box was built to contain a dibbuk, a dislocated spirit that inhabits and ultimately devours its human host.
Early Buzz: First Reviews of Wes Anderson’s ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ From the Cannes Film Festival
Wes Anderson fans eagerly awaiting Moonrise Kingdom — his first directorial effort since 2009′s Fantastic Mr. Fox, and his first live-action feature since 2007′s The Darjeeling Limited — can officially banish any worries that the hipster-prep auteur has lost his touch. Following the film’s world premiere at Cannes, the vast majority of reviews have been somewhere between “mostly positive” and “utterly glowing.” As with any movie, there are the occasional naysayers, but even the less enamored seem to agree that Anderson diehards will find the filmmaker doing exactly what he does best here.
Co-written by Anderson and Roman Coppola, Moonrise Kingdom follows the chaos that erupts in a sleepy New England island town in the 1960s when two adolescents (Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward) decide to run away together. The top-shelf adult supporting cast includes Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, and of course, Anderson staples Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray. Read the early reactions after the jump.
If you’ve seen the trailer or any of the marketing materials, it’ll come as no surprise that one aspect everyone agreed upon was the film’s Wes Anderson-iness. As always, however, some reviewers tended to like his schtick more than others. Coming Soon, who wrote one of the rare out-and-out negative reviews, wondered if Moonrise Kingdom had anything to it but its essential Wes Anderson style:
Who knows whether Anderson is so aware his fans expect certain sensibilities he feels the need to play up to them constantly or if he really thinks this is what movie audiences want to see, but he’ll always have plenty of A-list enablers on board to help do whatever he wants.[...] He throws so much non-sensical stuff at the weaker-than-normal script, trying to make any of it stick, that “Moonrise Kingdom” feels like a giant waste of money and a caché of squandered talent.
Even out of those who generally liked the movie, a few others wondered if Moonrise Kingdom would appeal to anyone outside the core audience of Anderson lovers. From Indiewire‘s B+ reaction:
There are diehard Wes Anderson fans and then there’s everyone else. “Moonrise Kingdom,” the idiosyncratic auteur’s seventh feature, eagerly pitches itself toward that first group of audiences and ignores the rest. But if those open to Anderson quirks will find a rewarding experience littered with warmth and playful humor.
THR concurred:
This is a Wes Anderson film — more lightweight than some, possessing a stronger emotional undertow than others — that will strike the uninitiated as conspicuously arch.
THR wasn’t the only outlet who felt Moonrise Kingdom was a bit slight. The Guardian, which gave it four out of five stars, said:
It was a very charming, beautifully wrought, if somehow depthless film — eccentric but heartfelt, and thought through to the tiniest, quirkiest detail in the classic Anderson style.
But some critics found themselves liking despite being iffy on Anderson in general. Here’s Screen Daily:
Those who have complained that Anderson makes the exact same twee, precious, mannered deadpan comedy every time out will have plenty here to further their argument, but this bittersweet bauble so confidently goes about its business that it’s difficult to deny that Anderson knows his milieu and how to dramatise it eloquently.
And The Atlantic:
Its moments of transporting beauty and visual brilliance overcame my growing aversion to Wes Anderson’s brand of ultra-stylized archness.[...] He’s still a filmmaker teetering dangerously on the brink of terminal tweeness, but Sam and Suzy bring out Anderson’s sincere side.
And Variety:
While no less twee than Wes Anderson’s earlier pictures, “Moonrise Kingdom” supplies a poignant metaphor for adolescence itself, in which a universally appealing tale of teenage romance cuts through the smug eccentricity and heightened artificiality with which Anderson has allowed himself to be pigeonholed.
A few critics emphasized the perfect fit between Anderson’s gentle, playful aesthetic and the kid-centric tale. Film School Rejects, in their A- review, wrote:
There is certainly an idea that Moonrise Kingdom is a kind of grown-up, or at least grown-out children’s book, which definitely helps explain the subtle magic-realist feel – like the most timeless of successful children’s books (and those which can be read by anyone) the story perfectly conveys how children see the world, while still retaining a sort of universally appealing dramatic element that appeals to the more adult of viewers.
Perhaps the most unusual take on Moonrise Kingdom‘s deployment of the signature Anderson style comes from The Playlist, who gave the movie an A:
There are signs — small ones, and easily missed — that Anderson is not only using his traditional M.O. here but also commenting on it and, perhaps, saying goodbye to it. (Suzy’s glance-to-camera in the final shot — a shot with a completely different grammar and language than the rest of the film — suggests that our characters are headed for a very different world in the months and years to come; it also suggests Anderson might be looking for new worlds to conquer.)
Interestingly, while the supporting roles are filled with A- and B-list stars, the two leads — Gilman and Hayward — were total unknowns. Responses to their first outing were generally favorable. Awards Daily was particularly impressed by the young performers:
Even with all of the parts of it that make it too conscious of itself, too drenched in sun-kissed nostalgia, at times irritatingly quirky — it works ultimately because Gilman and Hayward are so good. Somehow, these two pierced the surface of the Wes Anderson oeuvre and found the core of truth.
The reactions to the adult players, meanwhile, were more mixed. The consensus is that their roles were much smaller than those of the kids, and many, like The Hollywood Reporter, complained that “Most of the skilled adult actors don’t have much to play.” But others, like Rope of Silicon, felt that the adults were “up to the task.” Perhaps the grown-up who got the most praise was Bob Balaban, who narrates the tale.
We’ll end on a high note, with one of the most enthusiastic write-ups. HitFix thought Moonrise Kingdom was nothing short of Anderson “at his very best”:
All in all, “Moonrise Kingdom” is one of those films that seems slight on the surface, but there’s so much emotion in it, so much genuine heartfelt observation, that I have a feeling it will grow the more I think about it, and that a second viewing will simply underline the feelings I have about it already.[...] He may make it look easy because of how firmly his mannerisms are established at this point, but it takes a real artist to evoke the rocky emotional storms of adolescence and adulthood with such clear eyes and precise voice. “Moonrise Kingdom” is the real deal.
Infographic: Official Timeline Of The Marvel Cinematic Universe
In the past we’ve featured an infographic — almost a too-detailed one — that shows the timeline of events in Marvel movies. Now the company has issued an official timeline, and at the very least it is easier to read. What might be interesting to some more casual fans who haven’t thought as much about the precise timeline of the convergent story paths is this: a great many of the events in various Marvel films take place in the span of one week.
Check out the full graphic below.
Click to enlarge:
The image comes from the Art of The Avengers book; @MarvelFreshman provided the scan.
Remake Bits: John Woo Redoes Japanese New Wave Classic ‘Youth of the Beast,’ Plus ‘Carrie’ and ‘Little Shop of Horrors’
Typically, it’s the French New Wave that gets all the news, but Japan had its own New Wave in the ’60s, and one of the key players, whether he would have said as much or not, was Suzuki Seijun. The director worked for Nikkatsu studios, and in the ’60s he started to crank out studio films that grew weirder with each release. One of the formative films in that period was Youth of the Beast, starring the chipmunk-cheeked Shishido Joe.
Though not as wild as some of Suzuki’s later films, Youth of the Beast is a great, weird film. And now it will be remade by John Woo, who will call his version Day of the Beast. Rob Frisbee scripted, and Woo’s long-time producer Terence Chang will produce. Ironically, while Nikkatsu eventually fired Suzuki for his increasingly eccentric films, this production is part of the studio’s 100th Anniversary.
After the break, there’s a trailer for the original Youth of the Beast, and we’ve got some news on the new version of Carrie, and one of the prime movers behind the original Little Shop of Horrors speaks about the new film version of that story.
This is the plot description of Youth of the Beast, which like many of Suzuki’s great films, is available from Criterion.
When a mysterious stranger muscles into two rival yakuza gangs, Tokyo’s underworld explodes with violence. Yaju no Seishun was a breakthrough for director Seijun Suzuki, introducing the flamboyant colors, hallucinatory images, and striking compositions that would become his trademark.
Next up, let’s look to Carrie, the new film version of Stephen King‘s debut novel, to be directed by Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry). It already stars Chloe Moretz and Julianne Moore in the lead roles of the young, troubled telekinetic girl Carrie and her domineering, fundamentalist mother. Now Alex Russell (Chronicle) and Ansel Elgort (Regrets, an Off-Broadway production) are in talks to sing on, too.
Elgort will be in what is basically the William Katt role from the original film — a fairly nice guy who takes Carrie to the prom, where things go really wrong. Part of the reason they go so bad is the bullying attentions of a couple other kids, one of whom will be played by Russell. Is he in the John Travolta role? That we don’t quite know, but he’s definitely one of the jerks in the film. [Variety]
And there’s that new version of The Little Shop of Horrors, produced by and possibly starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa — who also scripted Carrie. It which will re-tell the story of a nerdy florist’s assistant and the carnivorous plant-like alien he befriends. Frank Oz was instrumental to the creation of the original Roger Corman film version, and he approves of at least one aspect of the new version, as he told EW, “I think Levitt would be great as Seymour.”
He also elaborated on his view of remakes:
The only reason for me to make a remake is if you have another take on it. I mean, I did Dirty Rotten Scoundrels as a [version of] Bedtime Story because I felt that what was there, we could make a little bit better. And I guess when they did the stage play of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, they felt they could do a different take on that. And when I did Death at a Funeral, I know Chris [Rock] wanted to have it in such a way that the black community could see it, because it was [previously] all whites. Nobody from the black community saw [my version]. So if there’s a legitimate reason, yeah. And if it’s much better than the original or equally good, like the incredible Godfather Part II, that’s stunning, then there’s a reason to make it. But just because you own the property and “Hey, it’s 20 years later, what the hell, let’s just make it,” no, that doesn’t make any sense to me.
‘Won’t Back Down’ Trailer – Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal Fight For Your Kids
Having tackled racism in Civil Rights-era Mississippi with the help of Emma Stone in last summer’s The Help, Viola Davis is now taking on the modern public education crisis with the aid of Maggie Gyllenhaal in Won’t Back Down.
Directed by Daniel Barnz (Beastly) from a script he co-wrote with Brin Hill, the apparently fact-based drama stars Gyllenhaal and Davis as a pair of determined mothers who team up to establish a charter school for struggling children in their Pittsburgh neighborhood. Oscar Isaac co-stars as a ukelele-strumming teacher who takes a romantic interest in Gyllenhaal, because he’s in everything these days. Watch the first trailer after the jump.
[via Yahoo Movies]
Based on the trailer, it seems that Barnz has managed the trick of making this story look uplifting without veering too far into sentimentality. It looks like he’s aided by grounded performances from Gyllenhaal and Davis. No surprise there. Davis in particular has a knack for spinning gold out of even the smallest, most thankless roles, let alone parts this meaty.
However, if I have one complaint, it’s that Davis’ character seems to get pushed off to the side a bit in favor of Gyllenhaal’s — to the extent that we never get a clear sense of Davis’ motivations, but we do get multiple scenes of Isaac being cute toward Gyllenhaal. Much as I like the latter two actors, who the hell cares about their budding flirtation when the women have much larger problems to deal with already? Here’s hoping this is just a case of a clumsily cut trailer, rather than an indication of a significant flaw in the movie.
Won’t Back Down opens September 28, just in time to help emphasize public education as a heated topic in the U.S. presidential race. Holly Hunter, Ving Rhames, Lance Reddick, and Rosie Perez also star.
WTF: Red Bull Producing Parkour-Flavored 3D ‘Oliver Twist’ Adaptation
It seems like years ago that parkour was the next big thing — hell, Bond movies often lag a couple years behind trends in action, and it was Casino Royale in 2006 that brought the free-running urban sport to that franchise. But we just heard about Tracers, a bike messenger/parkour project selling at Cannes with Taylor Lautner in the lead. And now there is another movie that will feature stunt men climbing walls and running roofs.
This one, however, sounds a bit more weird. How so? Check it out: Twist is an indie 3D action version of Oliver Twist, the Charles Dickens novel. Funding the project is Red Bull which, as ad viewers know, gives you wings — wings enough to leap onto buildings, it seems.
Variety says Twist will “center around the novel’s Fagin Gang, which will use the physical vaulting art of parkour to carry out a series of art thefts in the film.”
There isn’t much other info, other than that the story idea is from the Brothers Lynch and Simon Thomas (and Charles Dickens). This would hardly be the first wild adaptation of classic source material, though usually it is Shakespeare being twisted this way and that to become the basis for a film.
In addition, Oliver Twist has been adapted to screen more times than I could count on one hand, and so one more film version — even if it is a wildly re-worked telling — probably can’t hurt.
Oliver Twist is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who escapes from a workhouse and travels to London where he meets the Artful Dodger, leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets. Oliver is led to the lair of their elderly criminal trainer Fagin, naively unaware of their unlawful activities. Oliver Twist is notable for Dickens’ unromantic portrayal of criminals and their sordid lives. The book exposed the cruel treatment of many a waif-child in London, which increased international concern in what is sometimes known as “The Great London Waif Crisis”: the large number of orphans in London in the Dickens era.
Cool Stuff: ‘Notebook Nerd,’ Ballpoint Pen Artwork By Jim Rugg
Who hasn’t sat in a classroom with their notebook open, doodling away with a pen, dreaming they could one day sell those drawings as art? Comic book artist Jim Rugg has gone ahead and made that dream a reality. The artist behind indie titles Street Angel and Afrodisiac has an upcoming art show in Los Angeles featuring nothing but ballpoint drawings on spiral notebook paper. However, from that image above, you can tell these aren’t your typical notebook doodles. They’re beautiful pieces of one-of-a-kind art, many of which are pop culture themed.
After the jump, we’re proud to exclusively reveal several movie related pieces from Notebook Nerd, which open May 25 at iAm8Bit. There are pieces from Drive, Total Recall, Pulp Fiction, Bad Lieutenant, Friday the 13th, Sexy Beast and others. Check them out.
Notebook Nerd by Jim Rugg will open from 7-11 p.m. on May 25 at iam8bit, 2147 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA.
Here’s a bunch of art from the show. Note: The final image, from Total Recall, is NSFW.
For more information on the show, you can visit the official website as well as the Facebook invite. Here’s the description;
The title is pretty self-explanatory, as “NOTEBOOK NERD” almost says it all. JIM RUGG, the Swiss Army Knife of artists (and longtime iam8bit collaborator), gives us an insane perspective inside his brainhole, exposing the terrors and delights that populate his thoughts every, single day. While his comics “Street Angel” and “Afrodisiac” have already been dubbed classics by the indie scene, Rugg’s art in this show is different. It’s truly an exercise in precision. His only tool: the mighty ballpoint pen; and his unlikely canvas – spiral-bound notebook paper.
First Look: Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh in ‘Hitchcock,’ Plus Her Alien Character in ‘Under the Skin’
Scarlett Johansson had a quiet couple of years, with only Iron Man 2 and We Bought a Zoo hitting theaters in 2010 and 2011, respectively. But her profile is back up in the stratosphere thanks to The Avengers, and now a couple other productions she’s involved in are taking advangate of the attention lavished on Marvel’s big hit.
Here we’ve got two looks at Johansson in two very different movies. One is a film about the making of Psycho, in which she plays the actress Janet Leigh. The other is from Under the Skin, directed by Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast), in which Johansson plays an alien in human skin.
Hitchcock, as the adaptation of Stephen Rebello‘s book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho is called, features Johansson as the actress famously killed off early in the film, in one of the most iconic scenes in movie history.
Leigh is a bit more sternly attractive than Johansson is; the modern actress is a bit more lush. But the costume in this set photo (released via Yahoo) looks good, and I’m eager to see her interacting with Anthony Hopkins as Hitch. (His makeup is seen here.)
Also in the cast are Helen Mirren, Jessica Biel, Michael Stuhlbarg, James D’Arcy, Toni Colettte, Danny Huston and Michael Wincott. Sacha Gervasi, who made the doc Anvil! The Story of Anvil, is directing.
And then, since we never properly featured it when the image hit the other day, there’s Under the Skin, a film which was announced quite some time ago and is finally in post-production. Jonathan Glazer‘s third feature (following Birth) features, as Johansson said last year, “an ‘it’ that becomes a ‘she.’ It’s kind of impossible to describe.”
Johansson also told Vulture,
It’s like nothing I’ve ever done. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. It’s physically and emotionally challenging. I’ve never done anything as difficult. I don’t think Jonathan has, either. We’re, like, exhausted.
The first image is the header for this article; it doesn’t do much to suggest why the film is so unusual. But based on Glazer’s other work, I’m ready to find out.
Watch: Four Bob Balaban-Narrated ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ Featurettes
The four latest featurettes for Wes Anderson‘s Moonrise Kingdom don’t reveal much more about the actual movie than that last behind-the-scenes video did, but it’s still a pleasure to watch the cast and crew coming together. Especially when all the proceedings are narrated by Bob Balaban, in typically wry, gentle Anderson style.
The four videos focus on Anderson and stars Bill Murray, Edward Norton, and Bruce Willis, as they shoot their scenes and goof off between takes. Turns out Anderson and Norton in particular are pretty adept at stone skipping, and Anderson was scared of Murray the first time they met. Watch them after the jump.
Wes Anderson:
Bill Murray:
Edward Norton:
Bruce Willis:
[via Trailer Addict]
Anderson’s distinct style has come across strongly in all of the marketing we’ve seen for Moonrise Kingdom so far, and these videos are no exception. As a fan, I’m totally charmed. And I love Balaban’s narration, which is a good thing since he’ll be doing much more of the same in the actual film.
Moonrise Kingdom has its world premiere this week at the Cannes Film Festival, and will roll out for a limited U.S. release on May 25.
Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, MOONRISE KINGDOM tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore — and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand portray the young girl’s parents. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the boy and girl.