Michael Stuhlbarg Archives - Page 2 of 2

Trumbo (Blu-ray Review)

June 19, 2016 By Tim Isaac 1 Comment

Starring: Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Michael Stuhlbarg, Louis C.K.
Director: Jay Roach
Running Time: 124 mins
Certificate: 15
Release Date: June 20th 2016 (UK)

Ever since it happened, Hollywood has had a rather tortured relationship with the Communist Witch Hunts of the 1950s. At the time the Studios largely lined up with the government and co-operated with something which most felt was wrong, but they were too afraid of what would happen to business if they didn’t. They didn’t think they could risk being seen to be defending possible communists, even if the battle against them seemed to go against American values.

As a result, stars and directors gave names to Congress, and Hollywood drew up a list of names who were blacklisted out of the industry due to their possible communist sympathies. Ever since the tide later turned against those who’d co-operated and especially those who agreed to testify in front of The House Un-American Activities Committee, Tinsel Town has never seemed certain what to do about one of its darker chapters, and has generally given it a wide berth. [Read more…]

Steve Jobs (DVD Review)

March 20, 2016 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Michael Stuhlbarg, Katherine Waterston
Director: Danny Boyle
Running Time: 122 mins
Certificate: 15
Release Date: March 21st 2016 (UK)

I’m starting to think that screenwriter Aaron Sorkin has decided he’s a complete prick, and so has set out to write things that suggest that being the best and being an ass go hand-in-hand. The likes of The Social Network, Steve Jobs and, to some extent, The Newsroom and Studio 60 On Sunset Strip have all forwarded this agenda. Rumours suggest Sorkin can be incredibly demanding and difficult to work with (stories of how tough it was in the writer’s room of The West Wing and how little he listened to other peoples’ ideas are legendary), and it’s oddly interesting how so many of his projects seem to be about his own issues with this.

What he never quite addresses though is something he puts in the mouth of Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak in Steven Jobs, who tells the demanding and difficult Steve that being talented and being a decent person are not mutually exclusive. However, in the world of Aaron Sorkin, it often feels like they are. [Read more…]

Toni Collette & Danny Huston Join Making of Psycho

March 22, 2012 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Just yesterday, we reported that Jessica Biel had joined the cast of Sacha Gervasi’s Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, and now Variety reports that Toni Collette, Danny Huston, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Michael Wincott are in talks as well.

As the title suggests, the movie is about famed director Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) as he struggles to create his 1960 horror classic Psycho, which despite his stature in movie world, was a tough project he got little support for before its release. Helen Mirren is also onboard as Hitchcock’s wife, Alma, while Scarlet Johansson and James D’Arcy will be Psycho stars Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins.

Toni Collette will play Peggy Robertson, the director’s longtime assistant, while Danny Huston is portraying Whitfield Cook, a friend of the Hitchcock’s wife. Michael Stuhlbarg will play Alfred’s agent, the legendary Lew Wasserman, while Michael Wincott will be Ed Gein, the famed killer whose exploits Psycho is partially based on.

Production is due to begin in the next few months.

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ACTORS: Anthony Hopkins, Toni Collette, Danny Huston, Michael Stuhlbarg, Michael Wincott DIRECTORS: Sacha Gervasi FILMS: Hitchcock