“The Color Purple” director Blitz Bazawule hesitated to take on the latest incarnation of Alice Walker’s sacred text. However, when he revisited the book, the first line struck him as a way to navigate a familiar story and “keep expanding Celie’s imagination.”
In the new musical movie adaptation, as Celie (Fantasia Barrino) is bathing Shug (Taraji P. Henson), an old record plays on a gramophone in the background. But as the camera zooms in, the record player becomes a stage for Celie to express herself and her emotions. In a two-hour storyboard video film, the director had pre-visualized how Celie’s imagination would be integral to every aspect of bringing “The Color Purple” back to life.
Bazawule was speaking at Variety‘s Artisans Screening Series, where he was joined by editor Jon Poll, costume designer Francine Jamison-Tanchuck, production designer Paul D. Austerberry, cinematographer Dan Laustsen, makeup department head Carol Rasheed,...
In the new musical movie adaptation, as Celie (Fantasia Barrino) is bathing Shug (Taraji P. Henson), an old record plays on a gramophone in the background. But as the camera zooms in, the record player becomes a stage for Celie to express herself and her emotions. In a two-hour storyboard video film, the director had pre-visualized how Celie’s imagination would be integral to every aspect of bringing “The Color Purple” back to life.
Bazawule was speaking at Variety‘s Artisans Screening Series, where he was joined by editor Jon Poll, costume designer Francine Jamison-Tanchuck, production designer Paul D. Austerberry, cinematographer Dan Laustsen, makeup department head Carol Rasheed,...
- 12/11/2023
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Oscars Predictions: Best Film Editing – ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ Picking Up Momentum From Critics’ Groups
Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Achievement in Film Editing All of Us Strangers
Weekly Commentary: Lafca has only been handing out prizes for editing since 2012. Out of the past 11 winners, six became Oscar nominees with one winner among them – “Gravity” (2013). Interestingly, last year’s Lafca recipient “Aftersun,” was the first narrative...
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys
2024 Oscars Predictions:
Best Achievement in Film Editing All of Us Strangers
Weekly Commentary: Lafca has only been handing out prizes for editing since 2012. Out of the past 11 winners, six became Oscar nominees with one winner among them – “Gravity” (2013). Interestingly, last year’s Lafca recipient “Aftersun,” was the first narrative...
- 12/10/2023
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The “A Bold New Take” behind the scenes featurette from The Color Purple begins with producer Oprah Winfrey saying, “There’s nothing that’s been more vital to me culturally, artistically, than The Color Purple.” Interviews with the cast , including Halle Bailey, Fantasia Barrino, and Taraji P. Henson, and director Blitz Bazawule describe the importance of the story and why it’s still incredibly relatable.
Fantasia Barrino stars as the adult Celie, with Phylicia Pearl Mpasi playing the young Celie. Halle Bailey plays young Nettie, Ciara is adult Nettie, Danielle Brooks plays Sofia, Taraji P. Henson stars as Shug Avery, and Colman Domingo stars as Mister. Corey Hawkins is Harpo, H.E.R. is Squeak, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is Mama.
Taraji P Henson, Fantasia Barrino, and Danielle Brooks in ‘The Color Purple’ (Photo © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc)
Blitz Bazawule (The Burial of Kojo) directed and Marcus Gardley (The Chi) wrote the screenplay...
Fantasia Barrino stars as the adult Celie, with Phylicia Pearl Mpasi playing the young Celie. Halle Bailey plays young Nettie, Ciara is adult Nettie, Danielle Brooks plays Sofia, Taraji P. Henson stars as Shug Avery, and Colman Domingo stars as Mister. Corey Hawkins is Harpo, H.E.R. is Squeak, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is Mama.
Taraji P Henson, Fantasia Barrino, and Danielle Brooks in ‘The Color Purple’ (Photo © 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc)
Blitz Bazawule (The Burial of Kojo) directed and Marcus Gardley (The Chi) wrote the screenplay...
- 9/15/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
When it comes to predicting the Oscar winner for Best Film Editing, you can’t go wrong by looking for the movie with the most cuts. Past winners “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2008), “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2016), “Ford v Ferrari” (2020), “Dune” (2022) and last year’s champ “Everything Everywhere All at Once” included high-octane action sequences with frenetic cutting. A slew of winners — including “Saving Private Ryan” in 1999, “Black Hawk Down” (2002), “The Hurt Locker” (2010), “Hacksaw Ridge” (2017) and “Dunkirk” (2018) — have been war pictures. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2024 Oscar predictions for Best Film Editing.)
Oscar voters also embrace film editors who skillfully juggle multiple storylines, as was the case with “Traffic” (2001) and “Crash” (2006). And they like films that expertly inter-cut music with images, such as “Cabaret” (1973), “Chicago” (2003), “Whiplash” (2015), “Bohemian Rhapsody” (2019) and 2021 winner “Sound of Metal.” Special effects extravaganzas like “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2004) and “Gravity” (2014) won by...
Oscar voters also embrace film editors who skillfully juggle multiple storylines, as was the case with “Traffic” (2001) and “Crash” (2006). And they like films that expertly inter-cut music with images, such as “Cabaret” (1973), “Chicago” (2003), “Whiplash” (2015), “Bohemian Rhapsody” (2019) and 2021 winner “Sound of Metal.” Special effects extravaganzas like “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2004) and “Gravity” (2014) won by...
- 9/13/2023
- by Paul Sheehan and Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
The first The Color Purple trailer has arrived with American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino reprising her Broadway role. The epic musical reunites Steven Spielberg, the director of the 1985 film, with Oprah Winfrey, who made her feature film debut playing Sofia. Quincy Jones, a producer on the original film, is also back as an executive producer along with Spielberg and Winfrey.
Fantasia Barrino’s picked the perfect project as her movie debut, starring as the adult Celie, with Phylicia Pearl Mpasi as the young Celie. Halle Bailey plays young Nettie, Ciara is adult Nettie, Danielle Brooks is Sofia, Taraji P. Henson is Shug Avery, and Colman Domingo stars as Mister. Corey Hawkins is Harpo, H.E.R. is Squeak, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is Mama.
Blitz Bazawule directed the musical and Marcus Gardley wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Alice Walker and the musical stage play, book (of the musical stage play) by Marsha Norman,...
Fantasia Barrino’s picked the perfect project as her movie debut, starring as the adult Celie, with Phylicia Pearl Mpasi as the young Celie. Halle Bailey plays young Nettie, Ciara is adult Nettie, Danielle Brooks is Sofia, Taraji P. Henson is Shug Avery, and Colman Domingo stars as Mister. Corey Hawkins is Harpo, H.E.R. is Squeak, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is Mama.
Blitz Bazawule directed the musical and Marcus Gardley wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Alice Walker and the musical stage play, book (of the musical stage play) by Marsha Norman,...
- 5/22/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
A bold new take on the beloved classic, here’s a first look at the brand new trailer for The Color Purple.
Warner Bros. Pictures invites you to experience the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond in “The Color Purple.” This bold new take on the beloved classic is directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones.
The screenplay is by Marcus Gardley, based on the novel by Alice Walker and based on the musical stage play, book (of the musical stage play) by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.
“The Color Purple” stars Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Fantasia Barrino (in her major motion picture debut).
The executive producers Alice Walker, Rebecca Walker, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Carla Gardini, Mara Jacobs,...
Warner Bros. Pictures invites you to experience the extraordinary sisterhood of three women who share one unbreakable bond in “The Color Purple.” This bold new take on the beloved classic is directed by Blitz Bazawule and produced by Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones.
The screenplay is by Marcus Gardley, based on the novel by Alice Walker and based on the musical stage play, book (of the musical stage play) by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray.
“The Color Purple” stars Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Fantasia Barrino (in her major motion picture debut).
The executive producers Alice Walker, Rebecca Walker, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Carla Gardini, Mara Jacobs,...
- 5/22/2023
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg have reunited to revive “The Color Purple” into a movie musical, directed by Blitz Bazawule.
After debuting footage for distributors at CinemaCon last month, Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for the new adaptation, which is set to premiere in North America on Dec. 25. The film will open internationally beginning Jan. 18, 2024.
The trailer features visually bold motifs as it takes audiences inside Celie’s headspace with “American Idol” winner Fantasia reprising her Broadway role, in her major motion picture debut. It also gives an insight into the sisterhood of the women at the heart of the story. Elevated by grandeur, the highlights are the musical clips and jaw-dropping production set against the backdrop of Mister’s Farm.
Starring alongside Fantasia are Danielle Brooks as Sofia, who earned a Tony nomination for the role in the 2016 Broadway revival, Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery, Colman Domingo as Mister,...
After debuting footage for distributors at CinemaCon last month, Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for the new adaptation, which is set to premiere in North America on Dec. 25. The film will open internationally beginning Jan. 18, 2024.
The trailer features visually bold motifs as it takes audiences inside Celie’s headspace with “American Idol” winner Fantasia reprising her Broadway role, in her major motion picture debut. It also gives an insight into the sisterhood of the women at the heart of the story. Elevated by grandeur, the highlights are the musical clips and jaw-dropping production set against the backdrop of Mister’s Farm.
Starring alongside Fantasia are Danielle Brooks as Sofia, who earned a Tony nomination for the role in the 2016 Broadway revival, Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery, Colman Domingo as Mister,...
- 5/22/2023
- by Charna Flam, Jazz Tangcay and Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
In Jay Roach’s telling of Fox News boss Roger Ailes’ downfall by the women he harassed at the network, there’s a great pace in Bombshell, which organically makes this drama feel like a thriller.
When Bombshell editor Jon Poll first read the screenplay, he did so in the mindset of Roach’s style, specifically, the filmmaker’s HBO hanging chad Gore v. Bush presidential election feature Recount. But it wasn’t all about aggressive cutting like we saw in the previous Charles Randolph-scripted The Big Short, another movie about the self interests of those in power, and the injustice they execute.
“We were never trying to make the movie fast, just play emotionally,” Poll tells Crew Call “a movie tells you what you should do if you’re honoring the performances and the story, and that’s what we did.”
“It’s a movie with 220 scenes and when you read it,...
When Bombshell editor Jon Poll first read the screenplay, he did so in the mindset of Roach’s style, specifically, the filmmaker’s HBO hanging chad Gore v. Bush presidential election feature Recount. But it wasn’t all about aggressive cutting like we saw in the previous Charles Randolph-scripted The Big Short, another movie about the self interests of those in power, and the injustice they execute.
“We were never trying to make the movie fast, just play emotionally,” Poll tells Crew Call “a movie tells you what you should do if you’re honoring the performances and the story, and that’s what we did.”
“It’s a movie with 220 scenes and when you read it,...
- 1/7/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
“Bombshell” is a fast-moving exploration of the oppressive atmosphere at Fox News in 2016, when Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) and eventually, Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) brought down Roger Ailes. Considering more than 200 scenes were shot over 38 days, the film has an impressive runtime of 1:45. Director Jay Roach credits the work of his behind-the-camera colleagues for much of the speed and quality.
Barry Ackroyd, cinematographer
We shot almost every scene with two opposing cameras, sometimes three. Many DPs don’t like to shoot this way: They don’t want to light for multiple directions. Barry knows how to make it look great without ever compromising the lighting, and that’s tough. The actors are always on; they’re never off camera. Barry never wants a shot list. He doesn’t want to know where the actors will be; he wants to find and discover the moment. With the elevator scene, he...
Barry Ackroyd, cinematographer
We shot almost every scene with two opposing cameras, sometimes three. Many DPs don’t like to shoot this way: They don’t want to light for multiple directions. Barry knows how to make it look great without ever compromising the lighting, and that’s tough. The actors are always on; they’re never off camera. Barry never wants a shot list. He doesn’t want to know where the actors will be; he wants to find and discover the moment. With the elevator scene, he...
- 11/20/2019
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
After last week’s news about Netflix securing The Blacklist for a record fee, a similar story came to light this week concerning the pre Batman prequel series Gotham. Now rather than getting it day and date after Us broadcast as per Breaking Bad and From Dusk Till Dawn, Gotham’s entire run will just arrive on Netflix after it’s finished its TV broadcast. Worse news is that this means you have to wait for Channel 5 to get their finger out and schedule it on one of their three channels and then muck it around the schedule just to confuse you further and for it to finish its run there. Kind of takes the wind out the sails doesn’t it? I wouldn’t expect to see Gotham on Netflix until this time next year at best but we will see.
In better news David Wain’s relatively well...
In better news David Wain’s relatively well...
- 9/8/2014
- by Chris Holt
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Warner Bros UK. have released a new UK quad poster and three clips from director Jay Roach‘s political-comedy The Campaign, which stars Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis as rival politicians in a small congressional district in South Carolina. Ferrell plays a congressman who becomes embroiled in a public scandal, opening the door to a challenge from an unlikely Beltway outsider (Galifianakis). The film also stars Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Josh Lawson, Gary Grubbs, P.J Byrne, and Dan Aykroyd,
The Campaign is set for a UK release on September 28th.
When long-term congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) commits a major public gaffe before an upcoming election, a pair of ultra-wealthy CEOs plot to put up a rival candidate and gain influence over their North Carolina district. Their man: naïve Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), director of the local Tourism Center. At first, Marty appears to be the unlikeliest possible choice but,...
The Campaign is set for a UK release on September 28th.
When long-term congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) commits a major public gaffe before an upcoming election, a pair of ultra-wealthy CEOs plot to put up a rival candidate and gain influence over their North Carolina district. Their man: naïve Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), director of the local Tourism Center. At first, Marty appears to be the unlikeliest possible choice but,...
- 8/11/2012
- by Phil
- Nerdly
When long-term congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) commits a major public gaffe before an upcoming election, a pair of ultra-wealthy CEOs plot to put up a rival candidate and gain influence over their North Carolina district. Their man: naïve Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), director of the local Tourism Center. At first, Marty appears to be the unlikeliest possible choice but, with the help of his new benefactors’ support, a cutthroat campaign manager and his family’s political connections, he soon becomes a contender who gives the charismatic Cam plenty to worry about.
As Election Day closes in, the two are locked in a dead heat, with insults quickly escalating to injury until all they care about is burying each other, in this mud-slinging, back-stabbing, home-wrecking comedy from “Meet the Parents” director Jay Roach that takes today’s political circus to its logical next level. Because even when you think campaign ethics have hit rock bottom,...
As Election Day closes in, the two are locked in a dead heat, with insults quickly escalating to injury until all they care about is burying each other, in this mud-slinging, back-stabbing, home-wrecking comedy from “Meet the Parents” director Jay Roach that takes today’s political circus to its logical next level. Because even when you think campaign ethics have hit rock bottom,...
- 7/26/2012
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Following the recent poster releases, Warner Bros have debuted four new TV spots Jay Roach‘s political-comedy The Campaign, which stars Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis as rival politicians in a small congressional district in South Carolina. Ferrell plays a congressman who becomes embroiled in a public scandal, opening the door to a challenge from an unlikely Beltway outsider (Galifianakis). The film also stars Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, Josh Lawson, Gary Grubbs, P.J Byrne, and Dan Aykroyd
The Campaign is set for a Us releases on August 10th and September 28th here in the UK.
When long-term congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) commits a major public gaffe before an upcoming election, a pair of ultra-wealthy CEOs plot to put up a rival candidate and gain influence over their North Carolina district. Their man: naïve Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), director of the local Tourism Center. At first,...
The Campaign is set for a Us releases on August 10th and September 28th here in the UK.
When long-term congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) commits a major public gaffe before an upcoming election, a pair of ultra-wealthy CEOs plot to put up a rival candidate and gain influence over their North Carolina district. Their man: naïve Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis), director of the local Tourism Center. At first,...
- 7/20/2012
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis hit the campaign trail today at The Grove in Los Angeles, joking with fans and fielding questions at a press conference that focused on their roles as out-of-control political rivals in the irreverent new comedy .The Campaign.. The event launches an 11-city whistle-stop tour of public appearances that will travel the two across North America from now until Tuesday, July 31.
On the first leg of their tour, Ferrell and Galifianakis will next touch down at Kiener Plaza in St. Louis today. On Wednesday, July 18, they appear in Dallas/Ft. Worth and Chicago; on Thursday, July 19, they will campaign in Chicago and Seattle; and on Friday, July 20, in San Francisco. The second leg will then take them to Boston and Toronto on Monday, July 30; and on Tuesday, July 31, appropriately enough, they will wrap with visits to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Among the trip.s highlights,...
On the first leg of their tour, Ferrell and Galifianakis will next touch down at Kiener Plaza in St. Louis today. On Wednesday, July 18, they appear in Dallas/Ft. Worth and Chicago; on Thursday, July 19, they will campaign in Chicago and Seattle; and on Friday, July 20, in San Francisco. The second leg will then take them to Boston and Toronto on Monday, July 30; and on Tuesday, July 31, appropriately enough, they will wrap with visits to Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Among the trip.s highlights,...
- 7/17/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Come out next week to see Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, stars of the new Warner Bros. comedy The Campaign, and representatives from St. Louis City Hall and St. Louis sports teams including the Cardinals, the Blues and the Rams. Ferrell and Galifianakis will receive medals of honor and a proclamation from St. Louis City Hall naming Tuesday July 17 .Will and Zach Day. in St. Louis. Members of the St. Louis sports teams will present them with commemorative items.
When: Tuesday, July 17, 2012. 6:10 p.m. . Introduction to St. Louis City Hall Officials and Sports Teams
Where: Kiener Plaza at the Morton D. May Amphitheatre - 7th and Market, St. Louis, Mo
When long-term congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) commits a major public gaffe before an upcoming election, a pair of ultra-wealthy CEOs plot to put up a rival candidate and gain influence over their North Carolina district. Their man: naïve...
When: Tuesday, July 17, 2012. 6:10 p.m. . Introduction to St. Louis City Hall Officials and Sports Teams
Where: Kiener Plaza at the Morton D. May Amphitheatre - 7th and Market, St. Louis, Mo
When long-term congressman Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) commits a major public gaffe before an upcoming election, a pair of ultra-wealthy CEOs plot to put up a rival candidate and gain influence over their North Carolina district. Their man: naïve...
- 7/13/2012
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ gothic comedy “Dark Shadows,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo by Peter Mountain.
Get your calendars out fellow movie geeks. Warner Bros Pictures has released a schedule, along with a few new photos, of what you’ll see in the air-conditioned cinemas this summer. Overall the studio has some of the most anticipated films of the coming year, with just a sample including Tim Burton.s .Dark Shadows,. with Johnny Depp leading an all-star ensemble cast, including Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter and Eva Green; Adam Shankman.s screen version of the hit musical .Rock of Ages,. starring Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige, Bryan Cranston and Alec Baldwin; and .The Dark Knight Rises,. Christopher Nolan.s epic conclusion to his Batman trilogy, starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine,...
Get your calendars out fellow movie geeks. Warner Bros Pictures has released a schedule, along with a few new photos, of what you’ll see in the air-conditioned cinemas this summer. Overall the studio has some of the most anticipated films of the coming year, with just a sample including Tim Burton.s .Dark Shadows,. with Johnny Depp leading an all-star ensemble cast, including Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter and Eva Green; Adam Shankman.s screen version of the hit musical .Rock of Ages,. starring Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Malin Akerman, Mary J. Blige, Bryan Cranston and Alec Baldwin; and .The Dark Knight Rises,. Christopher Nolan.s epic conclusion to his Batman trilogy, starring Christian Bale, Michael Caine,...
- 4/14/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Filming has concluded on “The Campaign,” starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis as competing candidates in a no-holds-barred race for congress. The new comedy from “Meet the Parents” director Jay Roach is scheduled to open in theaters on August 10, 2012. The film also stars Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott and Katherine Lanasa, with John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd and Brian Cox.
In “The Campaign,” when long-term congressman Cam Brady (Ferrell) commits a major public gaffe before an upcoming election, a pair of ultra-wealthy CEOs plot to put up a rival candidate and gain influence over their North Carolina district. Their man: naive Marty Huggins (Galifianakis), director of the local Tourism Center. At first, Marty appears to be the unlikeliest possible choice but, with the help of his new benefactors’ support, a cutthroat campaign manager and his family’s political connections, he soon becomes a contender who gives the charismatic Cam plenty to worry about.
In “The Campaign,” when long-term congressman Cam Brady (Ferrell) commits a major public gaffe before an upcoming election, a pair of ultra-wealthy CEOs plot to put up a rival candidate and gain influence over their North Carolina district. Their man: naive Marty Huggins (Galifianakis), director of the local Tourism Center. At first, Marty appears to be the unlikeliest possible choice but, with the help of his new benefactors’ support, a cutthroat campaign manager and his family’s political connections, he soon becomes a contender who gives the charismatic Cam plenty to worry about.
- 3/11/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Anton Yelchin seems much older and more mature than his 22 years, both in Drake Doremus’s film Like Crazy (which might well turn him into one of the top movie stars of his generation) and in person (as I found when I sat down with him for a half-hour interview in New York on Monday, and as you can see in the above video of that meeting).
These days, the actor — who was born in Russia, moved with his family to America as a baby, and has worked here professionally since the age of nine — is probably best known for his appearance in J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek (2009), if not for some of his stronger work in smaller films like Nick Cassavetes’s Alpha Dog (2006), Jon Poll’s Charlie Bartlett(2007), and Jodie Foster’s The Beaver (2011). That will all change, however, on Oct. 28, when Paramount begins its platform release of...
These days, the actor — who was born in Russia, moved with his family to America as a baby, and has worked here professionally since the age of nine — is probably best known for his appearance in J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek (2009), if not for some of his stronger work in smaller films like Nick Cassavetes’s Alpha Dog (2006), Jon Poll’s Charlie Bartlett(2007), and Jodie Foster’s The Beaver (2011). That will all change, however, on Oct. 28, when Paramount begins its platform release of...
- 10/20/2011
- by Scott Feinberg
- Scott Feinberg
We’ve got a bunch of casting updates for you from all over the place. In this article you see some confirmed and unconfirmed casting bits that involve Rachel Weisz, Aaron Eckhart and Sean Bean, Val Lauren, Katie Holmes and Chace Crawford, Keifer Sutherland, Matthew McConaughey and Hilary Swank, and Elizabeth Debicki. Keep reading to find out what projects they may be involved with.
• First up, double news for Rachel Weisz. The actress has two projects she’s looking at joining, and they should both be pretty big films. She’s looking at taking up a role in The Bourne Legacy which already has Jeremy Renner set to star. In this film, she’d play “an operative from a covert government program that is even more dangerous than the Treadstone brainwashing program that hatched Bourne.” [Deadline]
• Secondly, for Weisz, she’s also being considered for the remake of The Thin Man...
• First up, double news for Rachel Weisz. The actress has two projects she’s looking at joining, and they should both be pretty big films. She’s looking at taking up a role in The Bourne Legacy which already has Jeremy Renner set to star. In this film, she’d play “an operative from a covert government program that is even more dangerous than the Treadstone brainwashing program that hatched Bourne.” [Deadline]
• Secondly, for Weisz, she’s also being considered for the remake of The Thin Man...
- 5/12/2011
- by Ryan Laster
- If It's Movies
Hopefully her role wouldn’t be later recast as it was in The Dark Knight – now it’s for sure that Katie Holmes (Batman Begins) is signed on for the starring role together with Chace Crawford (Twelve) in the rom-com Responsible Adults, written by Alex Schemmer in his own debut as penner. Jon Poll, the director [...] Katie Holmes and Chace Crawford are Responsible Adults is a post from: www.FilmoFilia.com...
- 5/11/2011
- by Nikola Mraovic
- Filmofilia
Katie Holmes and Chace Crawford ("Gossip Girl") have signed on to star in the romantic comedy Responsible Adults, directed by Jon Poll, for Myriad Pictures.
Holmes will play a 30-year-old med student Liz Quinn, who meets 22-year-old Baxter Wood (Crawford) and their instantly connect. She soon realizes they have already met -- she was his babysitter 15 years earlier. But Baxter fights to keep them together as he feels she is the one person who really knows him.
"The script is very funny. Katie Holmes and Chace Crawford are appealing actors around the world," said Kirk D'Amico, Myriad Pictures CEO. "And Jon Poll is a a terrific filmmaker. We are really pleased to help bring Responsible Adults to the big screen."
Casting is underway for other supporting characters. Responsible Adults is currently scheduled to start principal photography in the fall in Los Angeles.
Holmes will play a 30-year-old med student Liz Quinn, who meets 22-year-old Baxter Wood (Crawford) and their instantly connect. She soon realizes they have already met -- she was his babysitter 15 years earlier. But Baxter fights to keep them together as he feels she is the one person who really knows him.
"The script is very funny. Katie Holmes and Chace Crawford are appealing actors around the world," said Kirk D'Amico, Myriad Pictures CEO. "And Jon Poll is a a terrific filmmaker. We are really pleased to help bring Responsible Adults to the big screen."
Casting is underway for other supporting characters. Responsible Adults is currently scheduled to start principal photography in the fall in Los Angeles.
- 5/11/2011
- by alyssa@mediavine.com (Alyssa Caverley)
- Reel Movie News
Katie Holmes and Chace Crawford will star in the comedy-romance "Responsible Adult" for Night & Day Pictures says Screen Daily.
The story follows a 30-year-old med student (Holmes) who meets and falls for a younger man (Crawford) only to realize she was his baby sitter fifteen years beforehand.
Alex Schemmer penned the screenplay while Jon Poll ("Charlie Bartlett") will direct and both Michael Roiff and Julie Yorn will produce. Shooting kicks off this Fall in Los Angeles.
The story follows a 30-year-old med student (Holmes) who meets and falls for a younger man (Crawford) only to realize she was his baby sitter fifteen years beforehand.
Alex Schemmer penned the screenplay while Jon Poll ("Charlie Bartlett") will direct and both Michael Roiff and Julie Yorn will produce. Shooting kicks off this Fall in Los Angeles.
- 5/11/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
If Hollywood has taught us anything, it's that romance can spring from anywhere at anytime and that you're only being close-minded if you think it's creepy.
So open up! Chace Crawford is about to get with his babysitter.
The "Gossip Girl" actor has signed on opposite Katie Holmes in the romantic comedy "Responsible Adults," which Deadline reports is currently being shopped around at the Cannes Film Festival. In the film, Crawford plays a 22-year-old who strikes up a steamy relationship with Holmes' 30-year-old med student, only to find out -- drum roll! -- she took care of him as a kid.
"Cradle robbing" never seemed like more appropriate a term.
The film was written by actor Alex Schemmer and will be directed Jon Poll, who has experience with films that dabble in both comedy and grounded relationships. Poll has been an editor on films like "Meet the Parents" and the "Austin Powers" films,...
So open up! Chace Crawford is about to get with his babysitter.
The "Gossip Girl" actor has signed on opposite Katie Holmes in the romantic comedy "Responsible Adults," which Deadline reports is currently being shopped around at the Cannes Film Festival. In the film, Crawford plays a 22-year-old who strikes up a steamy relationship with Holmes' 30-year-old med student, only to find out -- drum roll! -- she took care of him as a kid.
"Cradle robbing" never seemed like more appropriate a term.
The film was written by actor Alex Schemmer and will be directed Jon Poll, who has experience with films that dabble in both comedy and grounded relationships. Poll has been an editor on films like "Meet the Parents" and the "Austin Powers" films,...
- 5/11/2011
- by Matt Patches
- NextMovie
Katie Holmes ( Batman Begins ) and Chace Crawford ("Gossip Girl," Twelve ) have signed on for the starring roles in the comedy-romance Responsible Adults , written by Alex Schemmer. Jon Poll, the director of Charlie Bartlett and a producer/editor of Dinner for Schmucks and Meet the Fockers , will direct. Michael Roiff from Night & Day Pictures is producing with Julie Yorn. Myriad Pictures is pre-selling international rights in Cannes this week. Holmes plays 30-year-old-med student Liz Quinn, who meets charming 22-year-old Baxter Wood (Crawford). Their chemistry is electric until she realizes they have already met - she was his babysitter 15 years ago. But Baxter isn't going to give up that easily on the one person he always felt knew him better than anyone...
- 5/11/2011
- Comingsoon.net
Los Angeles….Katie Holmes (Batman Begins, Thank You For Smoking, Go) and Chace Crawford (“Gossip Girl”, Twelve) have signed on for the starring roles in the comedy-romance Responsible Adults, written by Alex Schemmer. Jon Poll, the director of Charlie Bartlett and a producer/ editor of Dinner for Schmucks and Meet The Fockers will direct. Michael Roiff (Serious Moonlight, Waitress) from Night & Day Pictures is producing with Julie Yorn (Unstoppable, Bride Wars, The Exorcism of Emily Rose). Myriad Pictures is pre-selling international rights in Cannes this week. Holmes plays 30-year-old-med student Liz Quinn, who meets charming 22-year-old Baxter Wood (Crawford). Their chemistry is electric until she realizes they have already met - she was his babysitter 15 years ago. But Baxter isn’t going to give up that easily on the one person he always felt knew him better than anyone else. Kirk D’Amico, Myriad Pictures CEO said, “We look forward...
- 5/11/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Responsible Adults has cast Katie Holmes and Chace Crawford in the Jon Poll comedy written by Alex Schemmer. Michael Roiff (Serious Moonlight, Waitress) produces alongside Julie Yorn (Bride Wars, The Exorcism of Emily Rose). In Responsible Adults, Holmes plays a thirty-year-old med student who meets a charming 22-year-old and they share an electric chemistry, until she realizes she babysitted him fifteen years before that! Sugar momma! The film marks Schemmer's first screenplay and casting is underway for other supporting characters..
- 5/11/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Responsible Adults has cast Katie Holmes and Chace Crawford in the Jon Poll comedy written by Alex Schemmer. Michael Roiff (Serious Moonlight, Waitress) produces alongside Julie Yorn (Bride Wars, The Exorcism of Emily Rose). In Responsible Adults, Holmes plays a thirty-year-old med student who meets a charming 22-year-old and they share an electric chemistry, until she realizes she babysitted him fifteen years before that! Sugar momma! The film marks Schemmer's first screenplay and casting is underway for other supporting characters..
- 5/11/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Responsible Adults has cast Katie Holmes and Chace Crawford in the Jon Poll comedy written by Alex Schemmer. Michael Roiff (Serious Moonlight, Waitress) produces alongside Julie Yorn (Bride Wars, The Exorcism of Emily Rose). In Responsible Adults, Holmes plays a thirty-year-old med student who meets a charming 22-year-old and they share an electric chemistry, until she realizes she babysitted him fifteen years before that! Sugar momma! The film marks Schemmer's first screenplay and casting is underway for other supporting characters..
- 5/11/2011
- Upcoming-Movies.com
(For my written movie review of "Dinner for Schmucks," click here)
Here's more info on the movie from Yahoo:
Tim, is an up-and-coming executive who has just received his first invitation to the "dinner for idiots," a monthly event hosted by his boss that promises bragging rights to the exec that shows up with the biggest buffoon. Tim's fiancee, Julie, finds it distasteful and Tim agrees to skip the dinner, until he bumps into Barry--an IRS employee who devotes his spare time to building elaborate taxidermy mouse dioramas--and quickly realizes he's struck idiot gold. Tim can't resist, and invites Barry, whose blundering good intentions soon sends Tim's life into a frenzied downward spiral and a series of misadventures, threatening a major business deal, bringing crazy stalker ex-girlfriend, Darla, back into Tim's life and driving Julie into the arms of another man.
Also Known As: Dinner with Schmucks
Idiot Game
Le...
Here's more info on the movie from Yahoo:
Tim, is an up-and-coming executive who has just received his first invitation to the "dinner for idiots," a monthly event hosted by his boss that promises bragging rights to the exec that shows up with the biggest buffoon. Tim's fiancee, Julie, finds it distasteful and Tim agrees to skip the dinner, until he bumps into Barry--an IRS employee who devotes his spare time to building elaborate taxidermy mouse dioramas--and quickly realizes he's struck idiot gold. Tim can't resist, and invites Barry, whose blundering good intentions soon sends Tim's life into a frenzied downward spiral and a series of misadventures, threatening a major business deal, bringing crazy stalker ex-girlfriend, Darla, back into Tim's life and driving Julie into the arms of another man.
Also Known As: Dinner with Schmucks
Idiot Game
Le...
- 7/30/2010
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
Check out interviews with the stars and filmmakers of Paramount Pictures' "Dinner for Schmucks." We have videos with Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Bruce Greenwood, Ron Livingson and filmmaker Jay Roach. The David Guion and Michael Handelman written film based on the Francis Veber play "Le Diner de Cons," opens on July 30th and is rated PG-13 for sequences of crude and sexual content, some partial nudity and language. Amy Sayres, Jay Roach, Jon Poll, Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald produce. “Dinner for Schmucks” tells the story of Tim(Paul Rudd), a guy on the verge of having it all. The only thing standing between him and total career success is finding the perfect guest to bring to his boss’ annual Dinner for Extraordinary People, an event where the winner of the evening brings...
- 7/13/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Check out a new clip with Zach Galifianakis from Paramount Pictures' "Dinner for Schmucks." The eagerly anticipated comedy opens on July 30th and stars Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Jemaine Clement, Zach Galifianakis, Jeff Dunham, Bruce Greenwood, Ron Livingston, Stephanie Szostak and Lucy Davenport. Jay Roach helms from the writing by David Guion and Michael Handelman based on the Francis Veber play "Le Diner de Cons." Produced by Amy Sayres, Jay Roach, Jon Poll, Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald. Catch it in theaters on July 30th. Rated PG-13 for sequences of crude and sexual content, some partial nudity and language. “Dinner for Schmucks” tells the story of Tim(Paul Rudd), a guy on the verge of having it all. The only thing standing between him and total career success is finding the perfect guest to bring to his boss’ annual Dinner for Extraordinary People, an event where the winner...
- 7/12/2010
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Leon Bronstein, played by Jay Baruchel is your average high school student. He doesn’t fit in, he doesn’t get along with his teachers and he feels the need to belong. He also thinks that he is the reincarnation of early 20th century, Soviet iconoclast hero, Leon Trotsky. So much that he is determined to recreate every aspect of the late Communist leader. In this way, he’s not your average high school student. “The Trotsky” was the latest film from filmmaker Jacob Tierney.
As the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky, Leon Bronstein starts a revolution in his high school. He doesn’t think the students of Montreal West (yes, the film is Canadian) are being treated fairly by the head master, Principal Berkhoff, played by Colm Feore. Bronstein learns a hard lesson when he realizes, organizing a large group of teenagers is a hard thing to do. An interesting...
As the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky, Leon Bronstein starts a revolution in his high school. He doesn’t think the students of Montreal West (yes, the film is Canadian) are being treated fairly by the head master, Principal Berkhoff, played by Colm Feore. Bronstein learns a hard lesson when he realizes, organizing a large group of teenagers is a hard thing to do. An interesting...
- 5/2/2010
- by Rudie Obias
- CriterionCast
Writer: Gustin Nash Director: Jon Poll Cast: Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis, Kat Dennings, Tyler Hilton, Mark Rendall, Dylan Taylor, Megan Park, Jake Epstein Rating: Studio: 20th Century Fox Release Date: June 24, 2008 I thought I hated Anton Yelchin. My first experience with Yelchin was in the annoyingly trite, Fierce People. I disliked his character in the movie, [...]Sharethis.addEntry({ title: "DVD Review: Charlie Bartlett", url: "http://www.literaryillusions.com/LIreviews/2008/06/17/dvd-review-charlie-bartlett/" });...
- 6/17/2008
- by Dominick
- Thursday Feb 21st:. NYC: Last chance to catch Milos Forman's Loves of a Blonde. Check out the new print at the BAMcinématek. Times: 4:30, 6:50, 9:15pm Friday Feb 22nd:. Opens today: Take one of these and see me in the morning: MGM releases Jon Poll's directorial debut featuring an exaggeratedingly great tap and dance-like perf from young gun Anton Yelchin supported by Hope Davis and Robert Downey Jr.. Charlie Bartlett gets a limited theater run. Saturday Feb 23rd:. Television: Catch the 2008 Spirit Awards Live @ 5p.m. Est or 2p.m. Pst on the IFC Channel. Check out the complete list of nominees. Sunday Feb 24th:. Television: Skip the red carpet show and catch the 2008 Academy Awards Live @ 8p.m. Est or 5p.m. Pst on the ABC. Check out the complete list of nominees. Monday Feb 25th:. DVD: Wait till the clock strikes 12. Bernardo Bertolucci's
- 2/21/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
TORONTO -- Canadian movie distributor Equinoxe Films on Tuesday bolstered its ranks as it named veteran Karynn Austin to the new post of director of distribution and marketing, based in Toronto.
Austin will oversee all aspects of marketing for Equinoxe's theatrical and home entertainment releases in English-speaking Canada.
She comes to Montreal-based Equinoxe from TVA Films, where she was director of distribution and marketing in English Canada. Before that, she completed executive stints at C/FP Distribution and Malofilm.
Equinoxe's upcoming release slate includes Jon Poll's "Charlie Bartlett", starring Anton Yelchin and Robert Downey Jr.; Ira Sachs' "Married Life"; and Gillian Armstrong's "Death Defying Acts", which stars Catherine Zeta-Jones and Guy Pearce.
Austin will oversee all aspects of marketing for Equinoxe's theatrical and home entertainment releases in English-speaking Canada.
She comes to Montreal-based Equinoxe from TVA Films, where she was director of distribution and marketing in English Canada. Before that, she completed executive stints at C/FP Distribution and Malofilm.
Equinoxe's upcoming release slate includes Jon Poll's "Charlie Bartlett", starring Anton Yelchin and Robert Downey Jr.; Ira Sachs' "Married Life"; and Gillian Armstrong's "Death Defying Acts", which stars Catherine Zeta-Jones and Guy Pearce.
- 1/23/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Very few films are able to get the whole coming-of-age experience for young adults just right. Over the course of the last year we've had Super Bad and Juno, but I'd point to Jon Poll's directorial debut as the more poignant of the bunch. Unfortunately, after it's world premiere at Tribeca and thanks to the MPAA's bizarre ratings board decision (there is drug use in this one), MGM had to re-think the release strategy and delayed the Charlie Bartlett. Fortunately the film (which I happened to have caught at the Tremblant summer film fest where it won the Audience Award) is being repackaged (at least the poster work) for its upcoming 08' release. The Gustin Nash-scripted project, sees Yelchin who plays a wealthy teen who goes to a new public high school and ingratiates himself into its social fabric by using his charm to become the school's resident "psychiatrist.
- 12/19/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
NEW YORK -- Jay Roach has optioned Off Strategy, a hot romantic-comedy manuscript from Rob Vlock that's set on Madison Avenue. Jon Poll is attached to direct.
The project will be set up at Sony. Roach is attached as a producer.
The manuscript has not been bought but is making the rounds to New York lit houses, where it is attracting buzz from editors. The novel revolves around relationships and romance from a male perspective and centers on an ad copywriter who falls for a woman who turns out to be a client with whom the copywriter already has an acrimonious phone relationship. Sony is said to be positioning the project as a current-day You've Got Mail.
Sources who have seen the manuscript said it contains humor similar to The 40-Year-Old-Virgin, which Poll executive produced.
Roach, via his Everyman Pictures banner, has produced the hit comedies Borat and Meet the Parents. Roach and Poll also have collaborated on several projects, including Parents, Meet the Fockers and the upcoming MGM release Charlie Bartlett, which marks Poll's directorial debut.
The project will be set up at Sony. Roach is attached as a producer.
The manuscript has not been bought but is making the rounds to New York lit houses, where it is attracting buzz from editors. The novel revolves around relationships and romance from a male perspective and centers on an ad copywriter who falls for a woman who turns out to be a client with whom the copywriter already has an acrimonious phone relationship. Sony is said to be positioning the project as a current-day You've Got Mail.
Sources who have seen the manuscript said it contains humor similar to The 40-Year-Old-Virgin, which Poll executive produced.
Roach, via his Everyman Pictures banner, has produced the hit comedies Borat and Meet the Parents. Roach and Poll also have collaborated on several projects, including Parents, Meet the Fockers and the upcoming MGM release Charlie Bartlett, which marks Poll's directorial debut.
- 10/18/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
LONDON -- The U.K. Film Distributors' Assn. announced Thursday that Verve Pictures and Dogwoof Pictures are joining the association.
The two new recruits bring FDA membership to 20 companies, including 14 U.K. independents.
Verve Pictures has Douglas Mackinnon's "The Flying Scotsman" in current release and in the fall will release Jon Poll's new comedy, "Charlie Bartlett", starring Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis and Anton Yelchin.
Dogwoof Pictures recently launched Nick and Marc Francis's documentary "Black Gold".
Said FDA chief executive Mark Batey: "In recent years, both Verve and Dogwoof have established themselves successfully in a crowded market place through innovative marketing and careful distribution of a wide range of specialized films. We are really delighted that they are joining FDA and look forward to their expert contributions to industry matters."...
The two new recruits bring FDA membership to 20 companies, including 14 U.K. independents.
Verve Pictures has Douglas Mackinnon's "The Flying Scotsman" in current release and in the fall will release Jon Poll's new comedy, "Charlie Bartlett", starring Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis and Anton Yelchin.
Dogwoof Pictures recently launched Nick and Marc Francis's documentary "Black Gold".
Said FDA chief executive Mark Batey: "In recent years, both Verve and Dogwoof have established themselves successfully in a crowded market place through innovative marketing and careful distribution of a wide range of specialized films. We are really delighted that they are joining FDA and look forward to their expert contributions to industry matters."...
- 6/29/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The teenage rebel is such an iconic figure in cinema, one verging on cliche, you would think that smart filmmakers would steer clear at all costs. Fortunately, writer Gustin Nash and director Jon Poll, each making his feature debut, are perhaps too new to their jobs to be smart.
Consequently, we have a fresh, provocative, surprising take on this figure in Charlie Bartlett. The film certainly hits the anticipated areas of teen angst, alienation, loneliness, disenchantment and drug use. But the makers maintain a comic touch, preferring keen observation and even irony to cynicism and despair.
Indeed, the film could be accused of being overly optimistic in the many neat resolutions of its characters' problems if it were not for the filmmakers' insistence in maintaining a veneer of fictional wish-fulfillment, a kind of wink to the audience that it would take an unlikely and sagacious teen like Charlie Bartlett to perform so many miracles. And even one of his miracles backfires badly and nearly tragically.
This whip-smart comedy should do well at the boxoffice in its early August slot, when tentpole fatigue might have set in and audiences young and old search for movies with signs of brain activity. Marketing is key, though, followed by the film's word-of-mouth and critical reception.
Like Holden Caulfield, Charlie (Anton Yelchin in a possibly career-altering role) gets kicked out of a fancy prep school at the beginning of the story. But his reaction is quite different. He accepts his punishment -- he was manufacturing fake IDs on a large and highly profitable scale -- but remains cheerfully optimistic about his prospects even when his wealthy mother (Hope Davis) has no other choice than to put him in public school. He already has been kicked out of nearly every private school worth mentioning.
Charlie doesn't know how he fits into the world, but he is determined to fit. He is a natural-born schemer but understandably uncomfortable with the genes he might have inherited. His dad -- we find out much later -- is doing time for one of his schemes, and his mom is not, as they say, dealing with a full deck. So it is he who must take care of her rather than the other way around.
The first day at the new school starts like so many other teen movies where the New Kid gets a rough treatment. But what sets this one apart is how our Charlie responds. He makes the class bully, Murphey (Tyler Hilton), his partner in a pharmaceutical business he develops. For Charlie has discovered a quick cure-all for many of his fellow students' life problems: He dispenses Ritalin, Prozac and other make-it-go-away pills to the school' populace, medicine he can so easily score because his mom maintains family shrinks on a standby basis.
Charlie sets up shop in the boys' restroom, where he lends an ear to the myriad problems of low self-esteem and desire for popularity that so many classmates feel. Two people take notice of his own sudden spike in popularity: the school's disconnected principal Gardner (Robert Downey Jr.) and the principal's daughter, offbeat beauty Susan (Kat Dennings), who is drawn to Charlie's sunny personality.
The duel between the principal, under increasing pressure from the school superintendent to maintain control over an increasingly out-of-control student body, and the rebellious Charlie and how this impacts his budding romance with Susan is the main story line. However, the film touches on the lives of many students in often poignant ways, including the bully with a well-disguised softer side, a most unpopular, suicidal kid (Mark Rendall) and a cheerleader (Megan Park) whose sexual availability covers up her deep insecurities.
Yelchin delivers one of those performances that pop eyes. He is old and wise and yet a kid. He is in constant motion but never out of focus. He hits every comic beat without sacrificing any of the seriousness of the issues and character dilemmas strewn throughout the story. He carries the movie on his shoulders yet shares every scene with fellow actors superbly. It's a breakthrough role.
Among the adults, Downey and Davis are wonderful, offering soul-searing looks at human frailty and disenchantment that comes with age. Dennings shares many tender moments with Yelchin, allowing the natural chemistry between these young actors spark the romance within the movie.
The Canadian-based production is aces, with the school and homes having a lived-in look that so seldom permeates teen movies.
CHARLIE BARTLETT
MGM
MGM and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment present an Everyman Pictures/Texon Entertainment/Permut Presentations production
Credits:
Director: Jon Poll
Screenwriter: Gustin Nash
Producers: David Permut, Barron Kidd, Jay Roach, Sidney Kimmel
Executive producers: William Horberg, Jennifer Perini, Trish Hofmann, Bruce Toll
Director of photography: Paul Sarossy
Production designer: Tamara Deverell
Music: Christophe Beck
Co-producers: Steve Longi, Gustin Nash
Costume designer: Luis Sequeira
Editor: Alan Baumgarten
Cast:
Charlie Bartlett: Anton Yelchin
Principal Gardner: Robert Downey Jr.
Marilyn Bartlett: Hope Davis
Susan Gardner: Kat Dennings
Murphey Bivens: Tyler Hilton
Kip Crombwell: Mark Rendall
Len Arbuckle: Dylan Taylor
Whitney: Megan Park
Running time -- 96 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Consequently, we have a fresh, provocative, surprising take on this figure in Charlie Bartlett. The film certainly hits the anticipated areas of teen angst, alienation, loneliness, disenchantment and drug use. But the makers maintain a comic touch, preferring keen observation and even irony to cynicism and despair.
Indeed, the film could be accused of being overly optimistic in the many neat resolutions of its characters' problems if it were not for the filmmakers' insistence in maintaining a veneer of fictional wish-fulfillment, a kind of wink to the audience that it would take an unlikely and sagacious teen like Charlie Bartlett to perform so many miracles. And even one of his miracles backfires badly and nearly tragically.
This whip-smart comedy should do well at the boxoffice in its early August slot, when tentpole fatigue might have set in and audiences young and old search for movies with signs of brain activity. Marketing is key, though, followed by the film's word-of-mouth and critical reception.
Like Holden Caulfield, Charlie (Anton Yelchin in a possibly career-altering role) gets kicked out of a fancy prep school at the beginning of the story. But his reaction is quite different. He accepts his punishment -- he was manufacturing fake IDs on a large and highly profitable scale -- but remains cheerfully optimistic about his prospects even when his wealthy mother (Hope Davis) has no other choice than to put him in public school. He already has been kicked out of nearly every private school worth mentioning.
Charlie doesn't know how he fits into the world, but he is determined to fit. He is a natural-born schemer but understandably uncomfortable with the genes he might have inherited. His dad -- we find out much later -- is doing time for one of his schemes, and his mom is not, as they say, dealing with a full deck. So it is he who must take care of her rather than the other way around.
The first day at the new school starts like so many other teen movies where the New Kid gets a rough treatment. But what sets this one apart is how our Charlie responds. He makes the class bully, Murphey (Tyler Hilton), his partner in a pharmaceutical business he develops. For Charlie has discovered a quick cure-all for many of his fellow students' life problems: He dispenses Ritalin, Prozac and other make-it-go-away pills to the school' populace, medicine he can so easily score because his mom maintains family shrinks on a standby basis.
Charlie sets up shop in the boys' restroom, where he lends an ear to the myriad problems of low self-esteem and desire for popularity that so many classmates feel. Two people take notice of his own sudden spike in popularity: the school's disconnected principal Gardner (Robert Downey Jr.) and the principal's daughter, offbeat beauty Susan (Kat Dennings), who is drawn to Charlie's sunny personality.
The duel between the principal, under increasing pressure from the school superintendent to maintain control over an increasingly out-of-control student body, and the rebellious Charlie and how this impacts his budding romance with Susan is the main story line. However, the film touches on the lives of many students in often poignant ways, including the bully with a well-disguised softer side, a most unpopular, suicidal kid (Mark Rendall) and a cheerleader (Megan Park) whose sexual availability covers up her deep insecurities.
Yelchin delivers one of those performances that pop eyes. He is old and wise and yet a kid. He is in constant motion but never out of focus. He hits every comic beat without sacrificing any of the seriousness of the issues and character dilemmas strewn throughout the story. He carries the movie on his shoulders yet shares every scene with fellow actors superbly. It's a breakthrough role.
Among the adults, Downey and Davis are wonderful, offering soul-searing looks at human frailty and disenchantment that comes with age. Dennings shares many tender moments with Yelchin, allowing the natural chemistry between these young actors spark the romance within the movie.
The Canadian-based production is aces, with the school and homes having a lived-in look that so seldom permeates teen movies.
CHARLIE BARTLETT
MGM
MGM and Sidney Kimmel Entertainment present an Everyman Pictures/Texon Entertainment/Permut Presentations production
Credits:
Director: Jon Poll
Screenwriter: Gustin Nash
Producers: David Permut, Barron Kidd, Jay Roach, Sidney Kimmel
Executive producers: William Horberg, Jennifer Perini, Trish Hofmann, Bruce Toll
Director of photography: Paul Sarossy
Production designer: Tamara Deverell
Music: Christophe Beck
Co-producers: Steve Longi, Gustin Nash
Costume designer: Luis Sequeira
Editor: Alan Baumgarten
Cast:
Charlie Bartlett: Anton Yelchin
Principal Gardner: Robert Downey Jr.
Marilyn Bartlett: Hope Davis
Susan Gardner: Kat Dennings
Murphey Bivens: Tyler Hilton
Kip Crombwell: Mark Rendall
Len Arbuckle: Dylan Taylor
Whitney: Megan Park
Running time -- 96 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 6/26/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- If you are like me – you’re probably itching more for what the autumn season offerings have in store, but as usual there are still some films worth considering and some treasure troves to discover. Minus the superheroes, talking robots and pirates, I’m proud to present a Top 20 offering of films that will make you think, reflect and better yet are worth the investment in both time and money. So beat the heat, beat the crowds and beat the smog – and enjoy Ioncinema’s Top 20 Summer Preview! 20. Charlie Bartlett Release date: Aug.03 Wide ReleaseDistributor: MGMIoncinema Preview : View hereThe Gist: Gustin Nash-scripted project, sees Yelchin who plays a wealthy teen who goes to a new public high school and ingratiates himself into its social fabric by using his charm to become the school's resident "psychiatrist."Fact: How many times have we seen a film editor become a director?
- 5/10/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
If Ben Stiller's Greg Focker had a lot to worry about in "Meet the Parents", he's nearly paralyzed with anxiety in the follow-up to that 2000 hit. It's one thing to confront your worst fears in the form of your girlfriend's dad -- a retired CIA profiler with a penchant for schedules and surveillance, played with wonderful comic intensity by Robert De Niro -- but it's another to let the WASPy Byrneses of Oyster Bay behind the banana-leaf curtain of Focker Isle, the New Age tiki-fantasy abode of your ultrafree-spirited parents.
The first film's hilarity flowed naturally from the brilliant comic tension between Stiller's out-of-his-element lone Jew and De Niro, but here the story -- again scripted by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg -- feels jammed into a sitcom-shaped bid for laughs. With its surfeit of sex and toilet jokes, "Meet the Fockers" tries too hard, and the gags never hit the heights of "Parents'" most unpredictable moments. Still, the ensemble's giddy chemistry and the addition of perfectly cast topliners Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand should find "Fockers" entertaining huge crowds for the holidays and beyond.
Stiller returns as insecure male nurse Greg, two years into his relationship with schoolteacher Pam (Teri Polo). Months before tying the knot, they're taking her parents to Florida to meet his folks. Mildly daffy Dina (Blythe Danner) has no agenda, but Jack (De Niro) sees the trip as a scientific study that will determine whether the Focker family circle is worthy of linking with that of the Byrneses. He insists that they travel in his customized motor coach, a climate-controlled, Kevlar-coated box the size of a small city.
Joining them are Little Jack, the Byrneses' baby grandson, and Jack's beloved Himalayan cat, Mr. Jinx, who's learned how to flush since we last saw him but doesn't get any truly great scenes this time around. Jack has trained the tot to communicate using Koko-style sign language, but it's Greg who inadvertently teaches Little Jack his first spoken word -- a bad word, naturally -- in a gag that's done to death.
It's no wonder Greg is frozen with apprehension, his jaw locked tight and brow perennially creased: The "doctor and lawyer" he's described are in truth a sex therapist for seniors (Streisand) and an attorney who traded in his practice to be a stay-at-home dad (Hoffman). Bernie Focker disdains the "macho crap" that defines Jack, while Roz sees a couple in need of her expertise. No old-school Jews they, but they kvell nonetheless over everything about Greg, including his infant foreskin and loss of virginity to the family housekeeper (Alanna Ubach). The film deals out its obligatory lesson to Jack, but are his fetish for regimentation and investigatory compulsions really more deserving of rebuke than the Fockers' intrusions?
Their no-boundaries effusiveness provides just the right clash of sensibilities with the buttoned-down Byrneses. In her first screen role since her self-directed turn in 1996's "The Mirror Has Two Faces", Streisand is a sweetly overbearing New Age yenta, while Hoffman, who delivered winning comic work earlier this year in "I Heart Huckabees", is spot-on as a guy who holds nothing back.
It's great to see them, along with De Niro and Danner, letting loose in a comedy. But things could have been a lot loopier, a la the 1979-vintage "In-Laws". Instead, the scripters and returning helmer Jay Roach have concocted a formula romp that's propelled (sometimes just barely) by jokes rather than situations. Unlike the nonstop, cumulative comic force of "Parents", the sequel often stands still. When Jack doses Greg with truth serum, Stiller thaws out, unleashing his inner sarcastic Focker. It makes you wish the movie itself had indulged in some sodium pentothal.
Stiller's and, especially, Polo's roles have receded to the point where the next step in the franchise might be to jettison them altogether -- maybe put the four parents on a cruise and let all hell break loose? One of the best moments here finds an agitated Bernie in an act of '60s-style protest, under the wheels of Jack's mega-RV. The SDS-meets-CIA angle surely has fuel to burn.
Tech contributions are strong, notably Rusty Smith's flavorful upscale-hippie design for the Fockers' spread and Carol Ramsey's flowing ethno-getups for Roz. Shelley Berman is in briefly as one of her grateful clients, and Owen Wilson, who almost stole the first movie, cameos late in the proceedings, complete with yarmulke and panpipe.
MEET THE FOCKERS
Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures
Tribeca/Everyman Pictures
Credits:
Director: Jay Roach
Screenwriters: Jim Herzfeld, John Hamburg
Producers: Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, Jay Roach
Executive producers: Amy Sayres, Nancy Tenenbaum
Director of photography: John Schwartzman
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Music: Randy Newman
Co-producer: Jon Poll
Costume designer: Carol Ramsey
Editors: Jon Poll, Lee Haxall
Cast:
Jack Byrnes: Robert De Niro
Greg Focker: Ben Stiller
Bernie Focker: Dustin Hoffman
Roz Focker: Barbra Streisand
Dina Byrnes: Blythe Danner
Pam Byrnes: Teri Polo
Officer Le Flore: Tim Blake Nelson
Isabel: Alanna Ubach
Jorge Villalobos: Ray Santiago
Kevin Rawley: Owen Wilson
Judge Ira: Shelley Berman
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 115 minutes...
The first film's hilarity flowed naturally from the brilliant comic tension between Stiller's out-of-his-element lone Jew and De Niro, but here the story -- again scripted by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg -- feels jammed into a sitcom-shaped bid for laughs. With its surfeit of sex and toilet jokes, "Meet the Fockers" tries too hard, and the gags never hit the heights of "Parents'" most unpredictable moments. Still, the ensemble's giddy chemistry and the addition of perfectly cast topliners Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand should find "Fockers" entertaining huge crowds for the holidays and beyond.
Stiller returns as insecure male nurse Greg, two years into his relationship with schoolteacher Pam (Teri Polo). Months before tying the knot, they're taking her parents to Florida to meet his folks. Mildly daffy Dina (Blythe Danner) has no agenda, but Jack (De Niro) sees the trip as a scientific study that will determine whether the Focker family circle is worthy of linking with that of the Byrneses. He insists that they travel in his customized motor coach, a climate-controlled, Kevlar-coated box the size of a small city.
Joining them are Little Jack, the Byrneses' baby grandson, and Jack's beloved Himalayan cat, Mr. Jinx, who's learned how to flush since we last saw him but doesn't get any truly great scenes this time around. Jack has trained the tot to communicate using Koko-style sign language, but it's Greg who inadvertently teaches Little Jack his first spoken word -- a bad word, naturally -- in a gag that's done to death.
It's no wonder Greg is frozen with apprehension, his jaw locked tight and brow perennially creased: The "doctor and lawyer" he's described are in truth a sex therapist for seniors (Streisand) and an attorney who traded in his practice to be a stay-at-home dad (Hoffman). Bernie Focker disdains the "macho crap" that defines Jack, while Roz sees a couple in need of her expertise. No old-school Jews they, but they kvell nonetheless over everything about Greg, including his infant foreskin and loss of virginity to the family housekeeper (Alanna Ubach). The film deals out its obligatory lesson to Jack, but are his fetish for regimentation and investigatory compulsions really more deserving of rebuke than the Fockers' intrusions?
Their no-boundaries effusiveness provides just the right clash of sensibilities with the buttoned-down Byrneses. In her first screen role since her self-directed turn in 1996's "The Mirror Has Two Faces", Streisand is a sweetly overbearing New Age yenta, while Hoffman, who delivered winning comic work earlier this year in "I Heart Huckabees", is spot-on as a guy who holds nothing back.
It's great to see them, along with De Niro and Danner, letting loose in a comedy. But things could have been a lot loopier, a la the 1979-vintage "In-Laws". Instead, the scripters and returning helmer Jay Roach have concocted a formula romp that's propelled (sometimes just barely) by jokes rather than situations. Unlike the nonstop, cumulative comic force of "Parents", the sequel often stands still. When Jack doses Greg with truth serum, Stiller thaws out, unleashing his inner sarcastic Focker. It makes you wish the movie itself had indulged in some sodium pentothal.
Stiller's and, especially, Polo's roles have receded to the point where the next step in the franchise might be to jettison them altogether -- maybe put the four parents on a cruise and let all hell break loose? One of the best moments here finds an agitated Bernie in an act of '60s-style protest, under the wheels of Jack's mega-RV. The SDS-meets-CIA angle surely has fuel to burn.
Tech contributions are strong, notably Rusty Smith's flavorful upscale-hippie design for the Fockers' spread and Carol Ramsey's flowing ethno-getups for Roz. Shelley Berman is in briefly as one of her grateful clients, and Owen Wilson, who almost stole the first movie, cameos late in the proceedings, complete with yarmulke and panpipe.
MEET THE FOCKERS
Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures
Tribeca/Everyman Pictures
Credits:
Director: Jay Roach
Screenwriters: Jim Herzfeld, John Hamburg
Producers: Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro, Jay Roach
Executive producers: Amy Sayres, Nancy Tenenbaum
Director of photography: John Schwartzman
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Music: Randy Newman
Co-producer: Jon Poll
Costume designer: Carol Ramsey
Editors: Jon Poll, Lee Haxall
Cast:
Jack Byrnes: Robert De Niro
Greg Focker: Ben Stiller
Bernie Focker: Dustin Hoffman
Roz Focker: Barbra Streisand
Dina Byrnes: Blythe Danner
Pam Byrnes: Teri Polo
Officer Le Flore: Tim Blake Nelson
Isabel: Alanna Ubach
Jorge Villalobos: Ray Santiago
Kevin Rawley: Owen Wilson
Judge Ira: Shelley Berman
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 115 minutes...
Does anyone remember what the original joke of Mike Myers' "Austin Powers" series was? More to the point, does anyone care? The third installment, "Austin Powers in Goldmember", is a grab bag of gags, in-jokes, random movie spoofs, cross-cultural craziness, time-travel travesty, winks, nods and pantomime. It's truly a mess, but one that young fans and, no doubt, more than a few adults will embrace.
The franchise is definitely showing signs of wear, to say nothing of uncharacteristic sentimentality. But when Myers and company hit you with a perfectly realized gag, you throw up your hands in surrender. Whatever the creative fall-off, all signs point to boxoffice gold.
With each movie, Myers -- who again co-writes (with Michael McCullers) and co-produces -- plays more characters. Here he, of course, plays Austin, the spy from swinging '60s London, and his old nemesis Dr. Evil. He also returns as Fat Bastard, the grossly obese Scot. In a new creation, he takes on the title character, a gold-obsessed crime genius, easily the weakest of the lot, rather ill-defined but fortunately given little screen time.
The story is best understood as a series of skits loosely connected by the usual James Bond-ish absurdities. Characters from other movie genres join in. Michael Caine, who turns up as Austin's father, Nigel, recalls the Harry Palmer spy movies as well as "Alfie" from the '60s. Beyonce Knowles, founding member of the female vocal group Destiny's Child, displays glamour and charm as Foxxy Cleopatra, a salute to '70s blaxploitation. And in Dr. Evil's camp, Fred Savage plays a mole who indeed has a mole growing on his upper lip.
It's the 1970s that get the major kidding in this episode as Austin time travels back to 1975 for a quick visit to "Studio 69". But the story, such as it is, revolves around, of all things, daddy issues. Austin gets no respect from His Daddy, Caine's flamboyant yet emotionally careless British superspy. Meanwhile, Dr. Evil pampers his cloned and miniaturized self, Mini Me (Verne Troyer), while his real son, Scott (Seth Green), struggles for any recognition from Dad. This father/son quandary reaches an even greater level in a startling final revelation that wraps things up.
"Goldmember" has a host of celebrity cameos, mostly in the beginning, which New Line is asking critics not to reveal. The Tokyo setting of much of the story allows a few "celebrity" sightings one can reveal -- renowned chef Nobu Matsuhisa plays the cunning businessman Mr. Roboto, who designs the equipment Dr. Evil uses in his latest evil scheme, and Godzilla appears in a novel way in one of the film's funniest sequences. The Japanese setting also precipitates a truly hilarious gag involving the difficulties of reading subtitles.
Yet in "Goldmember", again directed by Jay Roach, the misses outweigh the hits by a wide margin. It takes more than 20 minutes for the movie to kick into gear, and too often frantic energy substitutes for comic invention. Oddly, the worst gags revolve around flatulence and excrement and the best around urination. Go figure. Better yet, don't.
Sets, costumes and effects have little rhyme or reason. But Roach's talented crew is merely following the blueprint of Myers and McCullers' wouldn't-this-be-groovy-baby script.
AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER
New Line Cinema
A Gratitude International, Team Todd/Moving Pictures production
Credits:
Director: Jay Roach
Screenwriters: Mike Myers, Michael McCullers
Producers: Suzanne Todd, Jennifer Todd, Demi Moore, Eric McLeod, John Lyons, Mike Myers
Executive producers: Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener
Director of photography: Peter Deming
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Music: George S Clinton
Co-producer: Gregg Taylor
Costume designer: Deena Appel
Editors: Jon Poll, Greg Hayden
Cast:
Austin Powers/Dr Evil/Goldmember/Fat Bastard: Mike Myers
Foxxy Cleopatra: Beyonce Knowles
Scott Evil: Seth Green
Nigel Powers: Michael Caine
Mini Me: Verne Troyer
Basil Exposition: Michael York
Number Two: Robert Wagner
Frau Farbissna: Mindy Sterling
Running time -- 94 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
The franchise is definitely showing signs of wear, to say nothing of uncharacteristic sentimentality. But when Myers and company hit you with a perfectly realized gag, you throw up your hands in surrender. Whatever the creative fall-off, all signs point to boxoffice gold.
With each movie, Myers -- who again co-writes (with Michael McCullers) and co-produces -- plays more characters. Here he, of course, plays Austin, the spy from swinging '60s London, and his old nemesis Dr. Evil. He also returns as Fat Bastard, the grossly obese Scot. In a new creation, he takes on the title character, a gold-obsessed crime genius, easily the weakest of the lot, rather ill-defined but fortunately given little screen time.
The story is best understood as a series of skits loosely connected by the usual James Bond-ish absurdities. Characters from other movie genres join in. Michael Caine, who turns up as Austin's father, Nigel, recalls the Harry Palmer spy movies as well as "Alfie" from the '60s. Beyonce Knowles, founding member of the female vocal group Destiny's Child, displays glamour and charm as Foxxy Cleopatra, a salute to '70s blaxploitation. And in Dr. Evil's camp, Fred Savage plays a mole who indeed has a mole growing on his upper lip.
It's the 1970s that get the major kidding in this episode as Austin time travels back to 1975 for a quick visit to "Studio 69". But the story, such as it is, revolves around, of all things, daddy issues. Austin gets no respect from His Daddy, Caine's flamboyant yet emotionally careless British superspy. Meanwhile, Dr. Evil pampers his cloned and miniaturized self, Mini Me (Verne Troyer), while his real son, Scott (Seth Green), struggles for any recognition from Dad. This father/son quandary reaches an even greater level in a startling final revelation that wraps things up.
"Goldmember" has a host of celebrity cameos, mostly in the beginning, which New Line is asking critics not to reveal. The Tokyo setting of much of the story allows a few "celebrity" sightings one can reveal -- renowned chef Nobu Matsuhisa plays the cunning businessman Mr. Roboto, who designs the equipment Dr. Evil uses in his latest evil scheme, and Godzilla appears in a novel way in one of the film's funniest sequences. The Japanese setting also precipitates a truly hilarious gag involving the difficulties of reading subtitles.
Yet in "Goldmember", again directed by Jay Roach, the misses outweigh the hits by a wide margin. It takes more than 20 minutes for the movie to kick into gear, and too often frantic energy substitutes for comic invention. Oddly, the worst gags revolve around flatulence and excrement and the best around urination. Go figure. Better yet, don't.
Sets, costumes and effects have little rhyme or reason. But Roach's talented crew is merely following the blueprint of Myers and McCullers' wouldn't-this-be-groovy-baby script.
AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER
New Line Cinema
A Gratitude International, Team Todd/Moving Pictures production
Credits:
Director: Jay Roach
Screenwriters: Mike Myers, Michael McCullers
Producers: Suzanne Todd, Jennifer Todd, Demi Moore, Eric McLeod, John Lyons, Mike Myers
Executive producers: Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener
Director of photography: Peter Deming
Production designer: Rusty Smith
Music: George S Clinton
Co-producer: Gregg Taylor
Costume designer: Deena Appel
Editors: Jon Poll, Greg Hayden
Cast:
Austin Powers/Dr Evil/Goldmember/Fat Bastard: Mike Myers
Foxxy Cleopatra: Beyonce Knowles
Scott Evil: Seth Green
Nigel Powers: Michael Caine
Mini Me: Verne Troyer
Basil Exposition: Michael York
Number Two: Robert Wagner
Frau Farbissna: Mindy Sterling
Running time -- 94 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 7/22/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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