Big Gay Picture Show

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema and more

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema & more

Snowden (Blu-ray Review) – Oliver Stone looks into the life of the whistleblower

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Pretty much everyone has heard of Edward Snowden, but Oliver Stone wants to take us behind the headlines to look at the man himself and what he was exposing when he leaked top secret information about what spying agencies were up to. The movie opens at the end, with Snowden in a Hong Kong hotel room, preparing to go on record with what he knows and the information he’s releasing. Most of the rest of the film is told in flashback, when a young Ed is forced out of the military and gets a job at the CIA in the days after 9/11. Along with his new career, he starts a relationship with the lefty, arty Lindsay (Shailene Woodley).

Initially pleased to be helping the US prevent another major terrorist attack, but after working for the CIA and then as an NSA contractor, Snowden becomes increasingly uncomfortable with the massive surveillance network the government has built. Secret projects and operations allow the spying agencies to go far beyond just finding the bad guys, and give them the ability to hide illegal activities and mistakes, and to track pretty much anyone and everything they choose, whether they’ve done anything wrong or not. [Read more…]

New Snowden Trailer – Oliver Stone directs Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the whistleblower tale

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joseph-gorden-levitt-as-edward-snowdenSnowden isn’t your usual Comic-Con fare, but the Oliver Stone film had a well-received panel in San Diego, which even included the real Edward Snowden participating via video link. For the rest of us, there’s a new trailer, which you can take a look at below.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Academy Award®-winning director Oliver Stone, who brought Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Wall Street and JFK to the big screen, tackles the most important and fascinating true story of the 21st century. Snowden, the politically-charged, pulse-pounding thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley, reveals the incredible untold personal story of Edward Snowden, the polarizing figure who exposed shocking illegal surveillance activities by the NSA and became one of the most wanted men in the world. He is considered a hero by some, and a traitor by others. No matter which you believe, the epic story of why he did it, who he left behind, and how he pulled it off makes for one of the most compelling films of the year.’

Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson, Rhys Ifans, and Nicolas Cage also star.

Snowden was originally due to be released at the end of last year, however it was pushed back to September 2016. Take a look at the trailer below. [Read more…]

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Snowden Trailer – Oliver Stone directs Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the whistleblower tale

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joseph-gorden-levitt-as-edward-snowdenTo some Edward Snowden is a traitor, while to others he is a hero who blew the whistle of government spying programs. Now Oliver Stone is taking on the tale, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Snowden.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Academy Award®-winning director Oliver Stone, who brought Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Wall Street and JFK to the big screen, tackles the most important and fascinating true story of the 21st century. Snowden, the politically-charged, pulse-pounding thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley, reveals the incredible untold personal story of Edward Snowden, the polarizing figure who exposed shocking illegal surveillance activities by the NSA and became one of the most wanted men in the world. He is considered a hero by some, and a traitor by others. No matter which you believe, the epic story of why he did it, who he left behind, and how he pulled it off makes for one of the most compelling films of the year.’

Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson, Rhys Ifans, and Nicolas Cage also star.

Snowden was originally due to be released at the end of last year, however it was pushed back (not a good sign) to September 2016, although there have been rumours it may get moved back again. Take a look at the trailer below. [Read more…]

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Channing Tatum & Joseph Gordon-Levitt Are Teaming Up For A Musical Comedy

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channing-tatum

A couple of days ago we posted a clip of Channing Tatum showing off his singing skills in Hail, Caesar!. Well, it seems he doesn’t want to leave it there, as THR reports that he’s teaming with Joseph Gordon-Levitt for a new musical comedy, which Universal has signed on to make.

The duo have worked together several times before, appearing alongside each other in Havoc, Stop-Loss, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, with Tatum also showing up in Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut, Don Jon. There’s not much info on what the film will be about, but it’s apparently planned as an R-rated movie, based on an idea by Gordon-Levitt and his longtime friend and colleague Michael Bacall, who will write the script.

It’s still pretty early days though, so don’t expect to see this for a while yet – indeed musicals tend to have an incredibly long development period due to the need to work on and refine the tunes. However it’ll certainly be good if it goes ahead and we can see Tatum and Gordon-Levitt showing off their wond and dance men skills in a full-length musical.

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The Walk (DVD Review)

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It’s the 1970s and Frenchman Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a small-time street entertainer in Paris, dreaming of something big. He believes that he is a wire-walking artist and that he is bigger that drawing a chalk circle and balancing a few feet off the ground.

He decides that the ‘coup’ that he must achieve is to walk between the still uncompleted Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York. It is a completely crazy idea – he doesn’t even know how far apart the buildings are – but after achieving a stunt to walk between the towers of Notre Dame, he begins to put his idea into action. [Read more…]

New The Walk Trailer – Joseph Gordon-Levitt does a high wire act for Robert Zemeckis

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the-walk-slideFor a very long time Robert Zemeckis was a many who couldn’t do anything without special effects, but more recently with Flight it looked like he was calming down. However with The Walk it appears he’s back to using effects to try and give a story a grander scale than it might otherwise have had.

And that’s certainly clear in this rather cool new trailer.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Twelve people have walked on the moon, but only one man – Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) – has ever, or will ever, walk in the immense void between the World Trade Center towers. Guided by his real-life mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), and aided by an unlikely band of international recruits, Petit and his gang overcome long odds, betrayals, dissension and countless close calls to conceive and execute their mad plan. Robert Zemeckis, the director of such marvels as Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Back to the Future, Polar Express and Flight, again uses cutting edge technology in the service of an emotional, character-driven story. With innovative photorealistic techniques and IMAX 3D wizardry, The Walk is true big-screen cinema, a chance for moviegoers to viscerally experience the feeling of reaching the clouds. The film, a PG-rated, all-audience entertainment for moviegoers 8 to 80, unlike anything audiences have seen before, is a love letter to Paris and New York City in the 1970s, but most of all, to the Towers of the World Trade Center.’

The film opens this autumn. [Read more…]

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt Takes On A Live-Action Fraggle Rock Movie

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joseph-gordon-levittFor over a decade now there’s been talk of a live-action Fraggle Rock movie, but despite a lot of talk it’s never actually seemed close to happening. However sometimes it needs the clout of a big name to get things happening, and hopefully that’ll happen now as Variety reports that Joseph Gordon-Levitt has signed up to produce and star.

Gordon-Levitt says, “The first screen personas I ever loved were Henson creations, first on ‘Sesame Street,’ and then on ‘Fraggle Rock. Jim Henson’s characters make you laugh and sing, but they’re also layered, surprising, and wise. From Oscar the Grouch, to Yoda, to the Fraggles. I’ve never stopped loving his work, even as a young frisky man, and on into adulthood. Collaborating with Lisa Henson makes me confident we can do something that Jim would have loved. I’m grateful and excited to be working with New Regency on this project.”

There’s not too much info other than that, such as who might direct and whether they’re bringing on new writers, or indeed when we might get to see the movie. There’s also no info about who Joseph might play, or indeed whether he’ll voice a Fraggle or be a live-action character.

Hopefully though the addition of Gordon-Levitt means the film will actually go somewhere this time.

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Nicolas Cage Joins Oliver Stone’s Edward Snowden Biopic

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nicolas-cageOliver Stone is bringing together a great cast for his planned biopic of Edward Snowden. Joseph Gordon Levitt is taking the lead role, with Shailene Woodley, Scott Eastwood, Zachary Quinto, Melissa Leo, Rhys Ifans, Joely Richardson, and Tom Wilkinson also onboard.

Now THR reports that Cage has joined the movie, playing a former U.S. Intelligence official, although it’s not clear exactly which one he will be.

Oliver Stone will direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with Kieran Fitzgerald (The Homesman), which will look at Snowden, the infamous NSA operative who leaked thousands of highly sensitive government papers, causing great controversy and revealing a cache of hidden information. It made him a hero to some and a pariah to others.

As well as Snowden himself the film will cover the others involved, such as the people who helped Edward get the documents into the public domain, including Laura Poitras, who won an Oscar yesterday for her Snowden documentary Citizenfour (and will be played by Melissa Leo in the movie).

Stone’s biopic should start shooting soon.

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Zachary Quinto & Melissa Leo Up For Oliver Stone’s Edward Snowden Biopic

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zachary-quintoOliver Stone is pulling his Edward Snowden biopic together. He’s already got Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the lead role, with Shailene Woodley as his girlfriend and Scott Eastwood also set to star. Now three more people are in talks, according to TheWrap.

Zachary Quinto, Melissa Leo and Tom Wilkinson are all in negotiations for key roles. Quinto will be attorney and journalist Glenn Greenwald, who Snowden entrusted with actually leaking the secret US government documents that caused a firestorm when they were released.

Melissa Leo will play Oscar-nominated documentary director Laura Poitras, who made Citizenfour about Snowden and also reported on the leaked NSA documents when they were first released.

Wilkinson meanwhile will play Guardian intelligence correspondent Ewen MacAskill, who was key in actually getting to documents checked and the information they contained to the public.

Oliver Stone will direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with Kieran Fitzgerald (The Homesman). It’s believed it will start shooting soon.

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The Walk Trailer – Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Robert Zemeckis take on a high wire act

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the-walk-slideIt looks like Joseph Gordon-Levitt enjoyed looking nothing like Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Looper, as it appears he’s at it again with The Walk, where he’s transformed himself into Philippe Petit.

In 1974 the daredevil infamously, and illegally, walked on a tightrope between the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Center, as shown in the acclaimed documentary Man On Wire.

The Walk, directed by Robert Zemeckis, takes a look at this incredible event.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Twelve people have walked on the moon, but only one man has ever, or will ever, walk in the immense void between the World Trade Center towers. Guided by his real-life mentor, Papa Rudy (Ben Kingsley), and aided by an unlikely band of international recruits, Petit and his gang overcome long odds, betrayals, dissension and countless close calls to conceive and execute their mad plan. Robert Zemeckis, the director of such marvels as Forrest Gump, Cast Away, Back to the Future, Polar Express and Flight, again uses cutting edge technology in the service of an emotional, character-driven story. With innovative photorealistic techniques and IMAX 3D wizardry, The Walk is true big-screen cinema, a chance for moviegoers to viscerally experience the feeling of reaching the clouds. The film is a love letter to Paris and New York City in the 1970s, but most of all, to the Towers of the World Trade Center.’

The movie is due out autumn 2015. [Read more…]

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