After writing and starring in Kissing Jessica Stein, Jennifer Westfeldt’s popped up in all sorts of projects. Now she’s making her directorial debut with Friend With Kids, and has enlisted the likes of John Hamm, Jennifer Westfeldt, Adam Scott, Kristen Wiig, Edward Burns, Maya Rudolph and Chris O’Dowd to star in it. A comedy of modern relationships and children rearing sees Westfeldt and Scott as two best friends who decide to have a child together while keeping their relationship platonic, so they can avoid the toll kids can take on romantic relationships. Their friends don’t think it can possibly work, but it seems to, until they start dating other people once the baby is born.
Boardwalk Empire – Season 1 (Blu-ray)
Director: Various
Running Time: 700 mins
Certificate: 18
Release Date: January 9th, 2012
Mixing fact and fiction, the past with present sensibilities and a great cast, Boardwalk Empire hit TV with a bang. Much of the initial interest came from the fact Martin Scorsese directed the first episode, and his influence is felt throughout the 12 episodes of Season 1. With the little expense spared in the creation of 1920s Atlantic City, it’s an incredibly rich world full of well-written characters, plenty of intrigue, decadence and moments of shocking violence.
The series centres around Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), a fictionalised version of a real-life New Jersey prohibition figure, who’s the treasurer of Atlantic City and one of its most esteemed businessmen – largely because he’s got the entire city in his pocket and his criminal network is pretty much untouchable [Read more…]
PM Calls For Funding To be Pushed Towards Commercial Film
Ahead of a visit to Pinewood today, Prime Minister David Cameron has made comments that have set off a firestorm of controversy. He’s said the film industry should support “commercially successful pictures”. His comments come ahead of next Monday’s publication of Lord Smith’s review into the government’s film policy, which was commissioned to find out how the industry could offer better support to UK filmmaking.
Cameron added, “we should aim even higher, building on the incredible success of recent years”, while acknowledging the British film industry had made “a £4bn contribution to the UK economy and an incalculable contribution to our culture”.
It’s now expected that Lord Smith’s report will suggest the same thing, which is likely to result in the targeting of National Lottery funds to potential blockbusters and away from the indie sector. In recent years many smaller films have used development funds from the lottery to help get them underway, and this is likely to be jeopardised if the government forces the funds in a more mainstream direction (it should be noted though, that the biggest lottery fund recipients have always been potentially commercial projects).
Cameron’s comments have already sparked much comment, not least for the cart before the horse silliness of calling for funding for “commercially successful pictures”. As Ken Loach pointed out on BBC Breakfast this morning, “If everyone knew what would be successful before it was made, there would be no problem. What you need to do is fund a lot of different, varied projects and then you’ll get a really vibrant industry.” After all, The King’s Speech didn’t look like a guaranteed success when it was in development (it was turned down by nearly all the major studios) and only got made thanks to lottery funds and the support of indie distributor Momentum. Now of course it’s a boxx office juggernaut.
It’s also been said many times before that in the UK, it’s not the obviously commercial projects that have trouble getting funding, it’s the smaller, more unusual movies, which often need a bit of a kickstart in terms of grants and support. What’s also true is that rather than worrying so much about what gets made, more attention could be paid to ensuring movies find their audience, such as support for independent cinema and getting British films in cinemas.
Calling for “commercially successful pictures” sounds sensible on the surface, but in practice its shortsighted and muddle-headed and the sort of area governments are best staying clear of. Hopefully things will become clearer once Lord Smith’s report it released on Monday, but the indie film sector is likely to be very wary of what the government has planned.
General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser
BAFTA Orange Rising Star Nominees Announced
The full nominations for the BAFTAs aren’t out until next week, but this morning the nominees for the Orange Rising Star Award were announced, so that the public can vote for the winner. So who’s up for the gong? Take a look below to find out…
Adam Deacon (Anuvahood, Kidulthood)
Chris Hemsworth (Thor)
Eddie Redmayne (My Week With Marilyn)
Tom Hiddleston (Thor)
Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids)
The nominees were whittled down from a longlist that also included Jessica Chastain, Felicity Jones and Jennifer Lawrence. It’s already been noted that it’s an all male list this year, and it does seem slightly odd that the three people on the longlist who aren’t in the final nominees are the women, especially in the case of Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence, who’ve had incredible years.
What’s less noted is that for the first time, there are absolutely no Americans amongst the nominees.
The winner is picked by the public, so once you’ve decided who you want to walk away with the award, click here to vote. The winner will be announced on February 12th.
General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser
Bond Getting A Massive 50th Anniversary Blu-ray Box Set
It’s hard to believe that 2012 marks 50 years since James Bond first hit cinema screens in Dr. No. MGM and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment aren’t going to ley this golden anniversary go by quietly, and so have unveiled Bond 50, a collectible box-set featuring all 22 James Bond films on Blu-ray Disc for the first time in one complete offering.
The longest running film franchise of all time, the Bond 50 collection also marks the debut of nine James Bond films previously unavailable in high definition Blu-ray. The box has been produced using the highest possible picture quality and audio presentation, the collection includes all 22 James Bond feature films from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace and more than 130 hours of bonus features, including some new and exclusive content.
The set is now available for pre-order, even though it’s not due out until October 1st, just in time for the release of Skyfall in cinemas! Take a look at a great new trailer for the release below.
General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser
Jersey Boys Musical Gets A Film
Jersey Boys has been a big hit on Broadway and the West End, so it’s not that surprising Hollywood has been sniffing around. Now producer Graham King has set screenwriter John Logan to come up with the script for a movie version of the show, according to Variety.
The jukebox musical tells the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Season, who produced hits such as Walk Like A Man and Big Girls Don’t Cry.
Logan seems to have a bit of a Midas touch at the moment. He took four years off from Hollywod but came storming back in 2011 with Rango, Hugo and Coriolanus, and this year he’s got Spielberg’s Lincoln and has also worked on the new Bond movie, Skyfall.
Although Mamma Mia was a big success, it’s likely they’re going to wait to see how fellow jukebox musical Rock of Ages does this summer. If that’s makes a lot of cash, Jersey Boys will be waiting in the wings to go ahead.
General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser
Red Tails – Seven Minute Preview
It’s taken a long time to get Red Tails from shoot to cinema (it filmed well over two years ago), but the George Lucas produced Red Tails is finally on its way, and while there’s no definite UK date yet, it’s released in the US later this month. In hope of getting people excited, a seven minute preview of the movie has been released, which largely shows off the spectacular aerial dogfight footage (Lucas has said it’s the closest people will ever get to Star Wars VII), as well as a few quieter scenes. The film is about a crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program, who, having faced segregation and been kept mostly on the ground during World War II, are called into duty under the guidance of Col. A.J. Bullard.
Haywire – The First Five Minutes
I don’t know why more films don’t put the first five minutes online ahead of the release, as it’s a good way for people to be able to tell whether they want to see more (which is probably why a lot of rubbish movies don’t do it). Steven Soderbergh’s new film, Haywire, hits UK cinemas next Wednesday, and the opening has now popped up online, showing that it’s all action from the get-go! Here’s the synopsis: ‘Mallory Kane (newcomer Gina Carano) is a highly trained operative who works for a government security contractor in the dirtiest, most dangerous corners of the world. After successfully freeing a Chinese journalist held hostage, she is double crossed and left for dead by someone close to her in her own agency. Suddenly the target of skilled assassins who knew her every move, Mallory must find the truth in order to stay alive.’ The movie also stars Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas and Channing Tatum.
Saving Private Ryan Writer Reworking Thor 2
Thor 2 is already on its third director, but assuming Game Of Thrones helmer Alan Taylor stays the course, things are moving ahead for a summer shoot, with a late 2013 release date already set for the superhero follow-up.
Now the script is getting a bit of a rewrite, as according to Deadline Robert Rodat has been hired to give things a bit of a punch up. He’s best known for scripting Saving Private Ryan, but he also has credits on films such as Fly Away Home and The Patriot, and created the TV series Falling Skies.
Rodat will now be polishing the script (originally written by Don Payne), but we don’t have any info of what direction the post-Avengers story will be taking. Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman should both be back to star.
General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser
Deep Water Gets Writer Zach Helm
Normally when the film world takes on one of Patricia Highsmith’s book, it’s one of her Ripley novels (or riffing on Strangers On A Train without crediting her), but now Fox 2000 has brought on screenwriter Zach Helm (Stranger Than Fiction) to adapt Highsmith’s Deep Water, according to THR.
The story centres on a successful husband who avoids a divorce with his wife by allowing her to sleep with other men. When her lovers start turning up dead, the community begins to ask questions about the unassuming couple. The studio is envisioning the project as a, “dark, sexy comedy.”
Steven Zaillian is producing alongside Garrett Basch and Ben Forkner. Mike Nichols was previously attached to direct, but he will now only be executive producing. The studio doesn’t currently have a director attached, and it isn’t clear when production may begin.
General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser
Rob Marshall Going Into The Woods
Stephen Sondheim may be beloved by the musical theatre cognoscenti, but he’s never been quite so popular in Hollywood. There have been adaptations such as Sweeney Todd, but generally his musicals have been a bit highbrow for mainstream film.
However now Chicago and Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides director Rob Marshallis taking on Sondheim’s Into the Woods for Walt Disney Pictures, as part of a two-year deal with the studio, according to THR.
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Broadway musical incorporates several fairy tale characters such as Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Little Red Riding Hood into the story of a baker who attempts to start a family with his wife. James Lapine is currently writing the screenplay adaptation, which will feature new songs by Sondheim. It’s definitely one of the the composer’s more commercial and easily accessible works.
It isn’t clear yet if Into the Woods will be Rob Marshall’s next project. He also has The Thin Man in development, which has Johnny Depp attached to star. There is also the possibility he will return to direct Pirates of the Caribbean 5.
General movie news courtesy of Movie Muser
Michael Stipe Producing Korean-American Gay Short Film
With REM calling it a day, Michael Stipe’s got time for other pursuits. One pastime he’s dabbled in before is being a film producer (on the likes of Being John Malkovich, Man On The Moon and Saved!) and now he’s doing it again, serving as the executive producer on Korean-American director Andrew Ahn’s gay short film, Dol.
It’s a very personal short, which the director used to tell his own family – who starred in his movie – that he was gay. Ahn says: “I made this film to come out to my parents. I knew I wouldn’t be able to tell them, to say the words ‘I’m gay’.
“So I cast my family in the film, but never told them that it was about a gay Korean-American man. The filmmaking process both distracted from and prepared me for the inevitable – that I would eventually have to show my parents the finished film.”
In the film, Nick is a gay Korean-American man living in Los Angeles’ Korean area with his partner. When Nick attends his nephew’s dol, a traditional Korean first birthday party, he finds himself longing for a life out of reach to him.
The film will debut at Sundance in a few weeks time, but we’ve embedded a short clip above.
(Source: Electric Banana)