Is this a thrilling, Chinatown-like Hollywood mystery, or a semi-docu about the making of the first TV Superman show? Or is it going to shed light on the mysterious death of actor George Reeves, the childhood hero we couldn’t believe had died by his own hand? Allen Coulter’s well-crafted show has a lot to say and says it well with an excellent cast… yet it needed something it doesn’t deliver. If you don’t require your movieland mysteries tied up in a neat bow, this could fit the bill.
Hollywoodland
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
2006 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 126 min. / Street Date August 25, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck, Bob Hoskins, Lois Smith, Robin Tunney, Joe Spano, Kathleen Robertson, Larry Cedar, Molly Parker.
Cinematography: Jonathan Freeman
Film Editor: Michael Berenbaum
Original Music: Marcelo Zarvos
Written by Paul Bernbaum
Produced by Glenn Williamson
Directed by...
Hollywoodland
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
2006 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 126 min. / Street Date August 25, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck, Bob Hoskins, Lois Smith, Robin Tunney, Joe Spano, Kathleen Robertson, Larry Cedar, Molly Parker.
Cinematography: Jonathan Freeman
Film Editor: Michael Berenbaum
Original Music: Marcelo Zarvos
Written by Paul Bernbaum
Produced by Glenn Williamson
Directed by...
- 8/18/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Earlier this summer, Scream Factory answered the devilish prayers of horror fans by announcing The Omen Blu-ray collection deluxe edition that includes all five Omen films, and now they've revealed the full list of special features for the box set ahead of its release this October.
Featuring five discs and every Omen movie in the satanic franchise—The Omen, Damien: Omen II, Omen III: The Final Conflict, Omen IV: The Awakening, and the 2006 remake—The Omen Blu-ray collection deluxe edition is slated for an October 15th release, and we have the official press release with full release details:
Press Release: Get ready to jump start your ultimate horror binge just in time for Halloween! On October 15, 2019, Scream Factory™ is proud to present The Omen Collection Deluxe Edition, featuring all four original films as well as the 2006 remake that kept movie audiences glued to the screen with white-knuckled terror. Packed with hours of chilling special features,...
Featuring five discs and every Omen movie in the satanic franchise—The Omen, Damien: Omen II, Omen III: The Final Conflict, Omen IV: The Awakening, and the 2006 remake—The Omen Blu-ray collection deluxe edition is slated for an October 15th release, and we have the official press release with full release details:
Press Release: Get ready to jump start your ultimate horror binge just in time for Halloween! On October 15, 2019, Scream Factory™ is proud to present The Omen Collection Deluxe Edition, featuring all four original films as well as the 2006 remake that kept movie audiences glued to the screen with white-knuckled terror. Packed with hours of chilling special features,...
- 9/6/2019
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Alchemy has acquired the political drama starring Nicolas Cage, while in a separate deal BBC Worldwide North America will present the theatrical premiere of We Come As Friends.
Austin Stark directed The Runner, about an ideaological politician who confronts hard truths about his dysfunctional life.
Sarah Paulson, Connie Nielsen, Wendell Pierce, Bryan Batt and Peter Fonda round out the key cast.
Alchemy plans to release The Runner later this year.
Bingo Gubelmann, Benji Kohn, Glenn Williamson, Erika Hampson and Chris Papavasiliou produced, while the executive producer roster includes Noah Millman, Ruth Mutch, Sam Bisbee, Tom Conigliaro, Galt Niederhoffer and Todd Cohen.
Alchemy vp of acquisitions Jeff Deutchman negotiated the North American deal with Wme Global and Alan Sacks of Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein & Selz PC. Fortitude International handles international sales.
BBC Worldwide North America will present the worldwide theatrical premiere of We Come As Friends from documentarian Hubert Sauper at the IFC Center in New York on August...
Austin Stark directed The Runner, about an ideaological politician who confronts hard truths about his dysfunctional life.
Sarah Paulson, Connie Nielsen, Wendell Pierce, Bryan Batt and Peter Fonda round out the key cast.
Alchemy plans to release The Runner later this year.
Bingo Gubelmann, Benji Kohn, Glenn Williamson, Erika Hampson and Chris Papavasiliou produced, while the executive producer roster includes Noah Millman, Ruth Mutch, Sam Bisbee, Tom Conigliaro, Galt Niederhoffer and Todd Cohen.
Alchemy vp of acquisitions Jeff Deutchman negotiated the North American deal with Wme Global and Alan Sacks of Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein & Selz PC. Fortitude International handles international sales.
BBC Worldwide North America will present the worldwide theatrical premiere of We Come As Friends from documentarian Hubert Sauper at the IFC Center in New York on August...
- 6/5/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Connie Nielsen, Peter Fonda, Bryan Batt and Wendell Pierce have joined Nicolas Cage and Sarah Paulson on Paper Street Films and Back Lot Pictures’ The Runner. Separately, it emerged on Wednesday that production on Sicario will take place at Albuquerque Studios.
Austin Stark’s directorial debut is a contemporary political drama that takes place in the aftermath of the 2010 Bp oil spill.
Production is set to commence in New Orleans on June 23.
Benji Kohn, Bingo Gubelmann, Chris Papavasiliou and Erika Hampson are producing The Runner for Paper Street Films and Glenn Williamson for Back Lot Pictures.
Executive producers are Ruth Mutch, Noah Millman, Sam Bisbee and Tom Conigliaro.
Sicario, which Denis Villeneuve will shoot for Thunder Road Pictures and Black Label Media, will shoot at Albuquerque Studios in New Mexico. Lionsgate International commenced sales at the Cannes market and Lionsgate will distribute in the Us.
Austin Stark’s directorial debut is a contemporary political drama that takes place in the aftermath of the 2010 Bp oil spill.
Production is set to commence in New Orleans on June 23.
Benji Kohn, Bingo Gubelmann, Chris Papavasiliou and Erika Hampson are producing The Runner for Paper Street Films and Glenn Williamson for Back Lot Pictures.
Executive producers are Ruth Mutch, Noah Millman, Sam Bisbee and Tom Conigliaro.
Sicario, which Denis Villeneuve will shoot for Thunder Road Pictures and Black Label Media, will shoot at Albuquerque Studios in New Mexico. Lionsgate International commenced sales at the Cannes market and Lionsgate will distribute in the Us.
- 6/18/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Nicolas Cage has been cast in the lead role of the upcoming contemporary political film, ‘The Runner.’ The drama marks the writing and directorial debuts from Austin Star, who has gained recognition for executive producing such independent films as ‘Infinitely Polar Bear’ and ‘Happythankyoumoreplease.’ ‘The Runner’ will be produced by Benji Kohn, Bingo Gubelmann and Chris Papavasiliou for Paper Street Films and Glenn Williamson for Back Lot Pictures. Production is set to begin on June 23 in New Orleans. Cage will star as as Colin Price, an idealistic but flawed New Orleans congressman, in ‘The Runner.’ In the aftermath of the 2010 Bp oil spill, Colin’s forced to confront his [ Read More ]
The post Nicolas Cage to Star in Austin Stark’s Directorial Debut The Runner appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Nicolas Cage to Star in Austin Stark’s Directorial Debut The Runner appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 5/19/2014
- by Karen Benardello
- ShockYa
Nicolas Cage will star for Paper Street Films and Back Lot Pictures in political drama The Runner.
Infinitely Polar Bear executive producer Austin Stark’s writing and directing debut centres on an idealistic but flawed New Orleans congressman who becomes embroiled in a sex scandal in the aftermath of the tragic 2010 Bp oil spill.
Benji Kohn, Bingo Gubelmann and Chris Papavasiliou produce for Paper Street Films with Glenn Williamson for Back Lot Pictures.
Ruth Mutch, Noah Millman, Sam Bisbee, Tom Conigliaro and Erika Hampson are the executive producers and production is set to kick off in New Orleans on June 23.
Infinitely Polar Bear executive producer Austin Stark’s writing and directing debut centres on an idealistic but flawed New Orleans congressman who becomes embroiled in a sex scandal in the aftermath of the tragic 2010 Bp oil spill.
Benji Kohn, Bingo Gubelmann and Chris Papavasiliou produce for Paper Street Films with Glenn Williamson for Back Lot Pictures.
Ruth Mutch, Noah Millman, Sam Bisbee, Tom Conigliaro and Erika Hampson are the executive producers and production is set to kick off in New Orleans on June 23.
- 5/16/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Nicolas Cage will star for Paper Street Films and Back Lot Pictures in political drama The Runner.
Infinitely Polar Bear executive producer Austin Stark’s writing and directing debut centres on an idealistic but flawed New Orleans congressman who becomes embroiled in a sex scandal in the aftermath of the tragic 2010 Bp oil spill.
Benji Kohn, Bingo Gubelmann and Chris Papavasiliou produce for Paper Street Films with Glenn Williamson for Back Lot Pictures.
Ruth Mutch, Noah Millman, Sam Bisbee, Tom Conigliaro and Erika Hampson are the executive producers and production is set to kick off in New Orleans on June 23.
Infinitely Polar Bear executive producer Austin Stark’s writing and directing debut centres on an idealistic but flawed New Orleans congressman who becomes embroiled in a sex scandal in the aftermath of the tragic 2010 Bp oil spill.
Benji Kohn, Bingo Gubelmann and Chris Papavasiliou produce for Paper Street Films with Glenn Williamson for Back Lot Pictures.
Ruth Mutch, Noah Millman, Sam Bisbee, Tom Conigliaro and Erika Hampson are the executive producers and production is set to kick off in New Orleans on June 23.
- 5/16/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Nicolas Cage has signed on to star in the contemporary political drama The Runner for Paper Street Films and Back Lot Pictures. The film marks producer Austin Stark’s writing and directorial debut. Over the past few years, Stark has produced and executive produced several indie films including this year’s Sundance hit Infinitely Polar Bear, starring Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana, and the Sundance 2010 Audience Award winner Happythankyoumoreplease. Story: Nicolas Cage, Jack Huston to Star in 'The Trust' The Runner will be produced by Benji Kohn, Bingo Gubelmann and Chris Papavasiliou for Paper Street and Glenn Williamson for Back Lot. Ruth
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- 5/16/2014
- by Tatiana Siegel
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
135 filmmakers and executives have been invited by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to join its ranks. Recent Oscar nominees and winners such as Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Mo'Nique, Carey Mulligan, Jeremy Renner, Gabourey Sidibe and Christoph Waltz have been invited to join; but even "Saw's" Tobin Bell and "Avatar's" Zoe Saldana received invites.
New members will be "baptized" in an invitation-only reception in September at the Academy's Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study in Beverly Hills.
Here's a complete list of the 2010 invitees:
Actors
Tobin Bell -- "Saw," "The Firm"
Vera Farmiga -- "Up in the Air," "The Departed"
Miguel Ferrer -- "Traffic," "RoboCop"
James Gandolfini -- "In the Loop," "Get Shorty"
Anna Kendrick -- "Up in the Air," "Twilight"
Mo'Nique -- "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "Phat Girlz"
Carey Mulligan -- "An Education," "Public Enemies"
Jeremy Renner -- "The Hurt Locker,...
New members will be "baptized" in an invitation-only reception in September at the Academy's Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture Study in Beverly Hills.
Here's a complete list of the 2010 invitees:
Actors
Tobin Bell -- "Saw," "The Firm"
Vera Farmiga -- "Up in the Air," "The Departed"
Miguel Ferrer -- "Traffic," "RoboCop"
James Gandolfini -- "In the Loop," "Get Shorty"
Anna Kendrick -- "Up in the Air," "Twilight"
Mo'Nique -- "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "Phat Girlz"
Carey Mulligan -- "An Education," "Public Enemies"
Jeremy Renner -- "The Hurt Locker,...
- 6/27/2010
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
it's not Tuesday but it's time for a Top Ten anyway... as this is yesterday's news already!
AMPAS used to hide their membership roster like the vote tallies but in the information age, they've opened up. Now we get to see the whole list of new invitees each year. I wonder how they keep they're membership around 6,000 given how many people they invite annual. Maybe enough people reject the offer, stop paying their dues, or pass from this mortal coil each year to balance it out?
You can read the full list of recipients at Indiewire, but as is the Film Experience tradition, we like to pinpoint the newest (potential) members whose future ballots we'd most like to see. So let's have at it.
New Academy Member Ballots We Most Want To See
10 Bono & The Edge (music)
They're two separate people but we'd like to imagine them filling out their ballots together inbetween sets.
AMPAS used to hide their membership roster like the vote tallies but in the information age, they've opened up. Now we get to see the whole list of new invitees each year. I wonder how they keep they're membership around 6,000 given how many people they invite annual. Maybe enough people reject the offer, stop paying their dues, or pass from this mortal coil each year to balance it out?
You can read the full list of recipients at Indiewire, but as is the Film Experience tradition, we like to pinpoint the newest (potential) members whose future ballots we'd most like to see. So let's have at it.
New Academy Member Ballots We Most Want To See
10 Bono & The Edge (music)
They're two separate people but we'd like to imagine them filling out their ballots together inbetween sets.
- 6/26/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
On Friday (June 25, 2010) the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences extended invitations to join the organization to 135 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitation will be the only additions in 2010 to the Academy.s roster of voting members.
.The work of these individuals has been appreciated by moviegoers all around the world,. said Academy President Tom Sherak. .The Academy is proud to invite each and every one of them..
The 2010 invitees are:
Actors
Tobin Bell . .Saw,. .The Firm. Vera Farmiga . .Up in the Air,. .The Departed. Miguel Ferrer . .Traffic,. .RoboCop. James Gandolfini . .In the Loop,. .Get Shorty. Anna Kendrick . .Up in the Air,. .Twilight. Mo.Nique . .Precious: Based on the Novel .Push. by Sapphire,. .Phat Girlz. Carey Mulligan . .An Education,. .Public Enemies. Jeremy Renner . .The Hurt Locker,. .28 Weeks Later” Ryan Reynolds . .The Proposal,. .X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Latanya Richardson Jackson . .Mother and Child,...
.The work of these individuals has been appreciated by moviegoers all around the world,. said Academy President Tom Sherak. .The Academy is proud to invite each and every one of them..
The 2010 invitees are:
Actors
Tobin Bell . .Saw,. .The Firm. Vera Farmiga . .Up in the Air,. .The Departed. Miguel Ferrer . .Traffic,. .RoboCop. James Gandolfini . .In the Loop,. .Get Shorty. Anna Kendrick . .Up in the Air,. .Twilight. Mo.Nique . .Precious: Based on the Novel .Push. by Sapphire,. .Phat Girlz. Carey Mulligan . .An Education,. .Public Enemies. Jeremy Renner . .The Hurt Locker,. .28 Weeks Later” Ryan Reynolds . .The Proposal,. .X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Latanya Richardson Jackson . .Mother and Child,...
- 6/25/2010
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
HollywoodNews.com: Adam Sandler is gearing up for the release of his new film, “Grown Ups,” and has just been announced as one of 135 artists selected to join the Academy.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 135 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitation will be the only additions in 2010 to the Academy’s roster of voting members.
“The work of these individuals has been appreciated by moviegoers all around the world,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “The Academy is proud to invite each and every one of them.”
The Academy’s membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 180 new members in 2010, but as in other recent years, the several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the organization has now held...
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 135 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitation will be the only additions in 2010 to the Academy’s roster of voting members.
“The work of these individuals has been appreciated by moviegoers all around the world,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “The Academy is proud to invite each and every one of them.”
The Academy’s membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 180 new members in 2010, but as in other recent years, the several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the organization has now held...
- 6/25/2010
- by HollywoodNews.com
- Hollywoodnews.com
Oscar winner Indian sound recordist Resul Pookutty has been invited to join the coveted Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences as a member. Along with Resul the invitation has been extended to 135 film professionals from around the globe that includes Christopher Walts (Inglorious Basterds) and Jacque Audiard (A Prophet). Resul was awarded an Oscar last year for Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire.
Members of the academy vote for the annual academy awards.
“The work of these individuals has been appreciated by moviegoers all around the world,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “The Academy is proud to invite each and every one of them.”
The Academy’s membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 180 new members in 2010, but as in other recent years, the several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the organization has now held steady at just under 6,000 members since...
Members of the academy vote for the annual academy awards.
“The work of these individuals has been appreciated by moviegoers all around the world,” said Academy President Tom Sherak. “The Academy is proud to invite each and every one of them.”
The Academy’s membership policies would have allowed a maximum of 180 new members in 2010, but as in other recent years, the several branch committees endorsed fewer candidates than were proposed to them. Voting membership in the organization has now held steady at just under 6,000 members since...
- 6/25/2010
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has invited 135 filmmakers and executives -- including such recent Oscar nominees and winners as Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Mo'Nique, Carey Mulligan, Jeremy Renner, Gabourey Sidibe and Christoph Waltz -- to join its ranks.
The Academy issued its annual invitation list Thursday.
The actor's portion of the list ranged from genre favorites like "Saw's" Tobin Bell to "Avatar's" Zoe Saldana, from "Sopranos" star James Gandolfini, whose film credits include "In the Loop" and "Get Shorty" to rising leading man Ryan Reynolds, who's appeared in "The Proposal" and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."
An international sampling of directors made the cut: Among them France's Jacques Audiard, Argentina's Juan Jose Campanella, Denmark's Lone Scherfig and, from the U.S., Lee Daniels and Adam Shankman, the latter of whom co-produced the last Oscar show.
Oscar nominee "District 9" was well represented: Matt Aitken and Dan Kaufman...
The Academy issued its annual invitation list Thursday.
The actor's portion of the list ranged from genre favorites like "Saw's" Tobin Bell to "Avatar's" Zoe Saldana, from "Sopranos" star James Gandolfini, whose film credits include "In the Loop" and "Get Shorty" to rising leading man Ryan Reynolds, who's appeared in "The Proposal" and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."
An international sampling of directors made the cut: Among them France's Jacques Audiard, Argentina's Juan Jose Campanella, Denmark's Lone Scherfig and, from the U.S., Lee Daniels and Adam Shankman, the latter of whom co-produced the last Oscar show.
Oscar nominee "District 9" was well represented: Matt Aitken and Dan Kaufman...
- 6/25/2010
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 2010 Gasparilla International Film Festival kicked off last night at the historic Tampa Theatre in downtown Tampa. After months of planning for the Giff's marquee event, the volunteers and members of the board all saw their tremendous efforts pay off. A night of meeting industry professionals, seeing a Sundance winning flick, and mingling with people who are passionate about filmmaking highlighted the night.
As local and national celebrities arrived for the reception prior to the opening flick, business cards were flying all over the place. The Giff board finally had a chance to enjoy a drink or two and interact with all in attendance. Also enjoying the festivities were State Representative Kevin Ambler, Digital Domain Chairman John Textor, and even Golden Globe nominated Armand Assante was making his rounds throughout the night.
One of the featured moments came when veteran actor Raymond J. Barry received this year's lifetime achievement award.
As local and national celebrities arrived for the reception prior to the opening flick, business cards were flying all over the place. The Giff board finally had a chance to enjoy a drink or two and interact with all in attendance. Also enjoying the festivities were State Representative Kevin Ambler, Digital Domain Chairman John Textor, and even Golden Globe nominated Armand Assante was making his rounds throughout the night.
One of the featured moments came when veteran actor Raymond J. Barry received this year's lifetime achievement award.
- 3/19/2010
- Tampa Film Examiner
Chicago – Christine Jeffs’ “Sunshine Cleaning” has its ups and downs, its pros and cons, but it’s worth a look, now on Blu-Ray and DVD, for one of the most delightful, multi-faceted performances of the year from one of the better actresses of her generation. What Amy Adams delivers in “Sunshine Cleaning” is her most interesting turn since “Junebug”. Even with an average Blu-Ray release, Adams makes “Cleaning” worth at least a rental on its own.
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0 Despite what Adams (and, to a lesser extent, Emily Blunt) bring to “Sunshine Cleaning,” it’s pretty undeniable that the screenplay could have used another polish. The film fluctuates wildly in tone and overall quality and feels at times like it was practically created by a computer designed to make a “Sundance comedy”.
The “Sundance comedy” is practically a genre of its own at this point - odd characters, quirky dialogue, an unexpected plot twist,...
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0 Despite what Adams (and, to a lesser extent, Emily Blunt) bring to “Sunshine Cleaning,” it’s pretty undeniable that the screenplay could have used another polish. The film fluctuates wildly in tone and overall quality and feels at times like it was practically created by a computer designed to make a “Sundance comedy”.
The “Sundance comedy” is practically a genre of its own at this point - odd characters, quirky dialogue, an unexpected plot twist,...
- 8/27/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – This 18-image slideshow contains a selection of images from the red carpet at the world premiere of “Sunshine Cleaning” in Los Angeles. The film stars Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Clifton Collins Jr., Mary Lynn Rajskub, and Jason Spevack. Written by Megan Holley and directed by Christine Jeffs, the film opens in limited release on Friday, March 13th, 2009.
Synopsis: “A single mom and her slacker sister find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in the off-beat dramatic comedy Sunshine Cleaning. Directed by Christine Jeffs (Rain, Sylvia), this uplifting film about an average family that finds the path to its dreams in an unlikely setting screened in competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
Sunshine Cleaning’s stellar cast includes Academy Award® nominee Amy Adams (Enchanted), Oscar® winner Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine), Golden Globe® winner Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada), Steve Zahn (Happy, Texas), Clifton Collins,...
Synopsis: “A single mom and her slacker sister find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in the off-beat dramatic comedy Sunshine Cleaning. Directed by Christine Jeffs (Rain, Sylvia), this uplifting film about an average family that finds the path to its dreams in an unlikely setting screened in competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
Sunshine Cleaning’s stellar cast includes Academy Award® nominee Amy Adams (Enchanted), Oscar® winner Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine), Golden Globe® winner Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada), Steve Zahn (Happy, Texas), Clifton Collins,...
- 3/10/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Chicago – This 29-image slideshow contains the official press images from the Overture Films production of “Sunshine Cleaning,” starring Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Steve Zahn, Clifton Collins Jr., Mary Lynn Rajskub, and Jason Spevack. Written by Megan Holley and directed by Christine Jeffs, the film opens in limited release on Friday, March 13th, 2009.
Synopsis: “A single mom and her slacker sister find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in the off-beat dramatic comedy Sunshine Cleaning. Directed by Christine Jeffs (Rain, Sylvia), this uplifting film about an average family that finds the path to its dreams in an unlikely setting screened in competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
Sunshine Cleaning’s stellar cast includes Academy Award® nominee Amy Adams (Enchanted), Oscar® winner Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine), Golden Globe® winner Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada), Steve Zahn (Happy, Texas), Clifton Collins, Jr. (Capote), Mary Lynn Rajskub (“24”) and Jason Spevack...
Synopsis: “A single mom and her slacker sister find an unexpected way to turn their lives around in the off-beat dramatic comedy Sunshine Cleaning. Directed by Christine Jeffs (Rain, Sylvia), this uplifting film about an average family that finds the path to its dreams in an unlikely setting screened in competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.
Sunshine Cleaning’s stellar cast includes Academy Award® nominee Amy Adams (Enchanted), Oscar® winner Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine), Golden Globe® winner Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada), Steve Zahn (Happy, Texas), Clifton Collins, Jr. (Capote), Mary Lynn Rajskub (“24”) and Jason Spevack...
- 2/19/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
See images from the Overture Films comedy "Sunshsine Cleaning" starring Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Steve Zahn and Alan Arkin. A woman starts a biohazard removal cleaning company with her somewhat unsteady sister in an effort to put her son in an excellent private school. Director Christine Jeffs helms from the writing by Megan Holley. Jeb Brody, Glenn Williamson, Peter Saraf and Marc Turtletaub produce. This sees release on March 13th next year and is Rated R for language, disturbing images, some sexuality and drug use.
- 10/28/2008
- Upcoming-Movies.com
See images from the Overture Films comedy "Sunshsine Cleaning" starring Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Steve Zahn and Alan Arkin. A woman starts a biohazard removal cleaning company with her somewhat unsteady sister in an effort to put her son in an excellent private school. Director Christine Jeffs helms from the writing by Megan Holley. Jeb Brody, Glenn Williamson, Peter Saraf and Marc Turtletaub produce. This sees release on March 13th next year and is Rated R for language, disturbing images, some sexuality and drug use.
- 10/28/2008
- Upcoming-Movies.com
See images from the Overture Films comedy "Sunshsine Cleaning" starring Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Steve Zahn and Alan Arkin. A woman starts a biohazard removal cleaning company with her somewhat unsteady sister in an effort to put her son in an excellent private school. Director Christine Jeffs helms from the writing by Megan Holley. Jeb Brody, Glenn Williamson, Peter Saraf and Marc Turtletaub produce. This sees release on March 13th next year and is Rated R for language, disturbing images, some sexuality and drug use. See the images now! Sunshine Cleaning(2008)(Released date: 3/13/2009 (Ltd.)) - Rate & Review this! (Not released? Then add a rating on your anticipation!) - Add to your List! - Find similar releases! ...
- 10/28/2008
- Upcoming-Movies.com
See images from the Overture Films comedy "Sunshsine Cleaning" starring Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Steve Zahn and Alan Arkin. A woman starts a biohazard removal cleaning company with her somewhat unsteady sister in an effort to put her son in an excellent private school. Director Christine Jeffs helms from the writing by Megan Holley. Jeb Brody, Glenn Williamson, Peter Saraf and Marc Turtletaub produce. This sees release on March 13th next year and is Rated R for language, disturbing images, some sexuality and drug use.
- 10/28/2008
- Upcoming-Movies.com
- #37. Sunshine Cleaning Director: Christine JeffsWriter: Megan Holley (debut)Producers: Jeb Brody, Peter Saraf and Marc Turtletaub (from Big Beach Films) and Glenn Williamson (Hollywoodland) Distributor: Currently Seeking Distribution The Gist: Written by Megan Holley, “Cleaning” is a character piece about Rose Lorkowski, tired and frustrated by her job cleaning other people’s homes, anxious to earn more money to send her eight year-old son Oscar to private school, Rose goes into business with her unreliable sister Norah doing biohazard removal and crime scene clean up. Fact: Jeffs directed the Paltrow-starrer very dark and difficult film Sylvia. See It: Got some good reviews from Sundance and boasts an impressive cast. Tonality draws upon dramedy genre. Premise sounds delicious. Release Date/Status?: This got a world preem from Sundance, but didn't find a buyer right off the bat. Look for it in theaters this year. ...
- 1/31/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
Mary Lynn Rajskub has joined the cast of Sunshine Cleaning, an indie feature being directed by Christine Jeffs.
The move stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as sisters who find a measure of meaning and understanding in life when they team to run a service cleaning up after crime scenes and traumas.
Rajskub will play a technician for a blood bank who is the object of Blunt's sexual obsession.
Producing are Marc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf, Glenn Williamson and Jeb Brody.
The movie is shooting in Albuquerque, N.M.
Rajskub is best known for portraying computer programmer Chloe O'Brian on Fox's 24. She is repped by Endeavor and Management 360.
The move stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as sisters who find a measure of meaning and understanding in life when they team to run a service cleaning up after crime scenes and traumas.
Rajskub will play a technician for a blood bank who is the object of Blunt's sexual obsession.
Producing are Marc Turtletaub, Peter Saraf, Glenn Williamson and Jeb Brody.
The movie is shooting in Albuquerque, N.M.
Rajskub is best known for portraying computer programmer Chloe O'Brian on Fox's 24. She is repped by Endeavor and Management 360.
NEW YORK -- Steven Zahn has been cast opposite Amy Adams, Alan Arkin and Emily Blunt in Christine Jeffs' dark comedy Sunshine Cleaning. Zahn (Sahara, Rescue Dawn) plays Mac, a married police officer having an affair with Rose Lorkowski (Adams), the co-owner of a firm that cleans up messy crime scenes. Arkin and Blunt play Rose's relatives and partners in the family business. Principal photography began Friday on Cleaning, which is set and being filmed in New Mexico. Clifton Collins, Jr., Eric Christian Olsen and Kevin Chapman co-star. The film is produced by Little Miss Sunshine filmmakers Jeb Brody, Peter Saraf, Marc Turtletaub and Hollywoodland producer Glenn Williamson. Zahn is represented by Endeavor and Principal Entertainment.
- 2/20/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Academy Award-nominated actress Amy Adams is in negotiations to star in Sunshine Cleaning, an indie feature being directed by Christine Jeffs. Peter Saraf, one of the producers behind Little Miss Sunshine, is producing along with Back Lot Pictures' Glenn Williamson (Hollywoodland). Written by Megan Holley, Cleaning focuses on a 30-year-old woman (Adams) who has squandered her life's potential on dead-end relationships and her younger sister, who is trying to find her way in the world. The sisters find meaning and understanding through an unlikely enterprise, their own crime scene cleanup business.
- 10/17/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Academy Award-nominated actress Amy Adams is in negotiations to star in Sunshine Cleaning, an indie feature being directed by Christine Jeffs and Karen Moncrieff. Peter Saraf, one of the producers behind Little Miss Sunshine, is producing along with Back Lot Pictures' Glenn Williamson (Hollywoodland). Written by Megan Holley, Cleaning focuses on a 30-year-old woman (Adams) who has squandered her life's potential on dead-end relationships and her younger sister, who is trying to find her way in the world. The sisters find meaning and understanding through an unlikely enterprise, their own crime scene cleanup business.
- 10/11/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Yet another remake displaying little reason for being, Fox's redo of their 1976 horror hit "The Omen" seems most clearly designed to capitalize on its 6/6/06 release date. While the well-known title and iconic central character of the little boy Antichrist Damien should bring in healthy initial business, especially considering the lack of similarly themed competition, this version is unlikely to repeat the original's blockbuster status.
Director John Moore, who previously demonstrated his penchant for remakes with "Flight of the Phoenix", takes great pains to replicate the dramatic set pieces of the original, with almost all of them replicated in slavish fashion. But though he's crudely effective in his re-creations, the filmmaker lacks the slick style with which Richard Donner infused the original. The result, once again written by original screenwriter David Seltzer, seems like a pale imitation, an impression that is only reinforced by the casting of the lead roles.
Replacing Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as the beleaguered parents are Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles. As diplomat Robert Thorn and his ill-fated wife, Katherine, who are bringing up their young son while unaware that he is the spawn of the devil, the talented performers seem to be playing at being grown-up. Stiles in particular seems far too young and childlike for the role, while the normally effective Schreiber lacks the gravitas that would seem necessary for his character's elemental struggle against evil. Too often, his dark looks and menacing scowl deliver the wrong signals about whose side he's on.
The casting is much more effective in the supporting roles, with British veterans David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite and Michael Gambon delivering juicy turns as, respectively, the reporter and priests attempting to warn Thorn of the impending apocalypse. As the literal nanny from hell, Mia Farrow uses her inherent strangeness -- not to mention her "Rosemary's Baby" resonance -- to excellent effect. And young Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick is about as creepy a devilish tyke as one could hope for.
Most of the scenes that worked in the original, from Thorn's menacing encounter with Damien's new guard dog to the horrific suicide of Damien's first nanny to the particularly colorful demises of the reporter and priest, are once again effective. But such original flourishes as working in footage of the Sept. 11 attacks and the tsunami disaster to indicate the impending apocalypse seem rather tacky, and the repeated use of dream sequences featuring eardrum-shattering sound effects are a cheap way of garnering scares.
One element that should have been recycled from the original, Jerry Goldsmith's supremely chilling musical score, has been jettisoned, with the new score by Marco Beltrami proving thoroughly ordinary.
THE OMEN
20th Century Fox
A 20th Century Fox production
Credits: Director: John Moore; Screenwriter: David Seltzer; Producers: Glenn Williamson, John Moore; Executive producer: Jeffrey Stott; Director of photography: Jonathan Sela; Production designer: Patrick Lumb; Film editor: Dan Zimmerman; Music: Marco Beltrami; Costume designer: George L. Little. Cast: Katherine Thorn: Julia Stiles; Robert Thorn: Liev Schreiber; Mrs. Baylock: Mia Farrow; Jennings: David Thewlis; Father Brennan: Pete Postlethwaite; Bugenhagen: Michael Gambon; Damien: Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick.
MPAA rating R, 110 minutes.
Director John Moore, who previously demonstrated his penchant for remakes with "Flight of the Phoenix", takes great pains to replicate the dramatic set pieces of the original, with almost all of them replicated in slavish fashion. But though he's crudely effective in his re-creations, the filmmaker lacks the slick style with which Richard Donner infused the original. The result, once again written by original screenwriter David Seltzer, seems like a pale imitation, an impression that is only reinforced by the casting of the lead roles.
Replacing Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as the beleaguered parents are Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles. As diplomat Robert Thorn and his ill-fated wife, Katherine, who are bringing up their young son while unaware that he is the spawn of the devil, the talented performers seem to be playing at being grown-up. Stiles in particular seems far too young and childlike for the role, while the normally effective Schreiber lacks the gravitas that would seem necessary for his character's elemental struggle against evil. Too often, his dark looks and menacing scowl deliver the wrong signals about whose side he's on.
The casting is much more effective in the supporting roles, with British veterans David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite and Michael Gambon delivering juicy turns as, respectively, the reporter and priests attempting to warn Thorn of the impending apocalypse. As the literal nanny from hell, Mia Farrow uses her inherent strangeness -- not to mention her "Rosemary's Baby" resonance -- to excellent effect. And young Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick is about as creepy a devilish tyke as one could hope for.
Most of the scenes that worked in the original, from Thorn's menacing encounter with Damien's new guard dog to the horrific suicide of Damien's first nanny to the particularly colorful demises of the reporter and priest, are once again effective. But such original flourishes as working in footage of the Sept. 11 attacks and the tsunami disaster to indicate the impending apocalypse seem rather tacky, and the repeated use of dream sequences featuring eardrum-shattering sound effects are a cheap way of garnering scares.
One element that should have been recycled from the original, Jerry Goldsmith's supremely chilling musical score, has been jettisoned, with the new score by Marco Beltrami proving thoroughly ordinary.
THE OMEN
20th Century Fox
A 20th Century Fox production
Credits: Director: John Moore; Screenwriter: David Seltzer; Producers: Glenn Williamson, John Moore; Executive producer: Jeffrey Stott; Director of photography: Jonathan Sela; Production designer: Patrick Lumb; Film editor: Dan Zimmerman; Music: Marco Beltrami; Costume designer: George L. Little. Cast: Katherine Thorn: Julia Stiles; Robert Thorn: Liev Schreiber; Mrs. Baylock: Mia Farrow; Jennings: David Thewlis; Father Brennan: Pete Postlethwaite; Bugenhagen: Michael Gambon; Damien: Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick.
MPAA rating R, 110 minutes.
Opens
Friday, March 19
Charlie Kaufman has finally nailed that elusive third act.
The concepts for his mind-expanding screenplays for "Being John Malkovich", "Human Nature", "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and "Adaptation" were all audacious and original, but the movies were running on fumes at the end. For Kaufman, the devil was in the details of finding his way out of the cerebral maze in which he isolated his characters.
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is not only his most accessible and romantic screenplay, it's his most complete. The third act works like a charm and pulls all his themes, characters and conflicts together beautifully.
The film will appeal to Jim Carrey fans and women drawn by Kate Winslet, but there will be a strong core audience of young and older adults who can't wait to see the latest Kaufman brain-tickler. None will be disappointed. Focus Features should enjoy above-average boxoffice for this spotless confection.
The references to the mind and brain in the preceding paragraphs are apt because the movie basically takes place in the mind of Joel Barish (Carrey). Barish knows his relationship with live-in girlfriend Clementine (Winslet) is unraveling, but he gets the shock of his life when he learns that she has had her memory of him completely erased from her mind. Rushing to see the inventor of this process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), he impulsively decides to undergo the procedure too.
After taking a knockout pill at night, Joel falls into a deep sleep while two of Mierzwiak's assistants, Stan (Mark Ruffalo) and Patrick (Elijah Wood), enter his apartment in Yonkers and strap on memory-erasing headgear. Using a map of Clementine's presence in Joel's brain that Dr. Mierzwiak traced the previous day, the brain-scanning device searches and destroys each memory one by one.
The movie now divides into two realities. In one, in Joel's bedroom, Stan and Patrick -- later joined by another office assistant and Stan's girlfriend, Mary (Kirsten Dunst) -- raid Joel's liquor and start to party even as the procedure continues. Patrick's tongue loosens, and he confesses that he fell in love with Clementine while zapping her memories of Joel. Using what he knows about her life and attraction to Joel, Patrick has unethically wormed his way into her bed.
Stan is mildly disconcerted about this but is much more disturbed when his patient begins to resist the procedure and he must call Dr. Mierzwiak for backup.
Which brings us to the second reality -- in Joel's mind. As his memories of Clementine vanish, Joel begins to realize how much he will miss her and what an impact her impetuous nature made on his orderly, over-regulated life. He tries desperately to hide his memory of her in places in his life she never visited. The movie then becomes a race between Joel's frantic efforts to cling to a piece of Clementine and the mad scientists in pursuit of those memories.
Director Michel Gondry, a French music video director who made his directorial debut with Kaufman's "Human Nature", beautifully orchestrates Ellen Kuras' cinematography, Dan Leigh's production design and Valdis Oskarsdottir's editing so memories merge and evaporate seemingly in a single shot. Joel and Clementine move through space as the scenes behind them change and morph like animation cels gone mad.
It's a wonderful concept -- to see a couple relive their life together, going backward, but able to make comments on what each was thinking and to see how each may have misread the other. Most exciting of all is that third act, where characters who no longer know one another must find each other again using the heart and not the mind.
Carrey takes all his usual antic energy and bottles it up tight to portray an anal man both attracted and repelled by Winslet's free spirit who changes her attitudes almost as frequently as her hair color. Wilkinson gives the doctor such a calm intelligence that you almost forget what an appalling device he has invented. Ruffalo is goofy and unthinking, while Wood's puppy love for a former patient has a genuinely nasty side, the equivalent of psychological rape. Dunst is deep into hero worship of all the scientists, especially Wilkinson's gentle guru, without realizing the implications of that hero worship.
For all its science fiction plot, "Eternal Sunshine" is no special-effects extravaganza. The emphasis is always on the characters, their hearts and minds.
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
Focus Features
Anonymous Content
Credits:
Director: Michael Gondry
Screenwriter: Charlie Kaufman
Story: Charlie Kaufman, Michael Gondry, Pierre Bismuth
Producers: Steve Golin, Anthony Bergman
Executive producer: David Bushness, Charlie Kaufman, Glenn Williamson, Georges Bermann
Director of photography: Ellen Kuras
Production designer: Dan Leigh
Music: Jon Brion
Costume designer: Melissa Toth
Editor: Valdis Oskarsdottir
Cast:
Joel Barish: Jim Carrey
Clementine Kruczynski: Kate WInslet
May: Kirsten Dunst
Stan: Mark Ruffalo
Patrick: Elijah Wood
Dr. Mierzwiak: Tom Wilkinson
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Friday, March 19
Charlie Kaufman has finally nailed that elusive third act.
The concepts for his mind-expanding screenplays for "Being John Malkovich", "Human Nature", "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and "Adaptation" were all audacious and original, but the movies were running on fumes at the end. For Kaufman, the devil was in the details of finding his way out of the cerebral maze in which he isolated his characters.
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is not only his most accessible and romantic screenplay, it's his most complete. The third act works like a charm and pulls all his themes, characters and conflicts together beautifully.
The film will appeal to Jim Carrey fans and women drawn by Kate Winslet, but there will be a strong core audience of young and older adults who can't wait to see the latest Kaufman brain-tickler. None will be disappointed. Focus Features should enjoy above-average boxoffice for this spotless confection.
The references to the mind and brain in the preceding paragraphs are apt because the movie basically takes place in the mind of Joel Barish (Carrey). Barish knows his relationship with live-in girlfriend Clementine (Winslet) is unraveling, but he gets the shock of his life when he learns that she has had her memory of him completely erased from her mind. Rushing to see the inventor of this process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), he impulsively decides to undergo the procedure too.
After taking a knockout pill at night, Joel falls into a deep sleep while two of Mierzwiak's assistants, Stan (Mark Ruffalo) and Patrick (Elijah Wood), enter his apartment in Yonkers and strap on memory-erasing headgear. Using a map of Clementine's presence in Joel's brain that Dr. Mierzwiak traced the previous day, the brain-scanning device searches and destroys each memory one by one.
The movie now divides into two realities. In one, in Joel's bedroom, Stan and Patrick -- later joined by another office assistant and Stan's girlfriend, Mary (Kirsten Dunst) -- raid Joel's liquor and start to party even as the procedure continues. Patrick's tongue loosens, and he confesses that he fell in love with Clementine while zapping her memories of Joel. Using what he knows about her life and attraction to Joel, Patrick has unethically wormed his way into her bed.
Stan is mildly disconcerted about this but is much more disturbed when his patient begins to resist the procedure and he must call Dr. Mierzwiak for backup.
Which brings us to the second reality -- in Joel's mind. As his memories of Clementine vanish, Joel begins to realize how much he will miss her and what an impact her impetuous nature made on his orderly, over-regulated life. He tries desperately to hide his memory of her in places in his life she never visited. The movie then becomes a race between Joel's frantic efforts to cling to a piece of Clementine and the mad scientists in pursuit of those memories.
Director Michel Gondry, a French music video director who made his directorial debut with Kaufman's "Human Nature", beautifully orchestrates Ellen Kuras' cinematography, Dan Leigh's production design and Valdis Oskarsdottir's editing so memories merge and evaporate seemingly in a single shot. Joel and Clementine move through space as the scenes behind them change and morph like animation cels gone mad.
It's a wonderful concept -- to see a couple relive their life together, going backward, but able to make comments on what each was thinking and to see how each may have misread the other. Most exciting of all is that third act, where characters who no longer know one another must find each other again using the heart and not the mind.
Carrey takes all his usual antic energy and bottles it up tight to portray an anal man both attracted and repelled by Winslet's free spirit who changes her attitudes almost as frequently as her hair color. Wilkinson gives the doctor such a calm intelligence that you almost forget what an appalling device he has invented. Ruffalo is goofy and unthinking, while Wood's puppy love for a former patient has a genuinely nasty side, the equivalent of psychological rape. Dunst is deep into hero worship of all the scientists, especially Wilkinson's gentle guru, without realizing the implications of that hero worship.
For all its science fiction plot, "Eternal Sunshine" is no special-effects extravaganza. The emphasis is always on the characters, their hearts and minds.
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
Focus Features
Anonymous Content
Credits:
Director: Michael Gondry
Screenwriter: Charlie Kaufman
Story: Charlie Kaufman, Michael Gondry, Pierre Bismuth
Producers: Steve Golin, Anthony Bergman
Executive producer: David Bushness, Charlie Kaufman, Glenn Williamson, Georges Bermann
Director of photography: Ellen Kuras
Production designer: Dan Leigh
Music: Jon Brion
Costume designer: Melissa Toth
Editor: Valdis Oskarsdottir
Cast:
Joel Barish: Jim Carrey
Clementine Kruczynski: Kate WInslet
May: Kirsten Dunst
Stan: Mark Ruffalo
Patrick: Elijah Wood
Dr. Mierzwiak: Tom Wilkinson
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Opens
Friday, March 19
Charlie Kaufman has finally nailed that elusive third act.
The concepts for his mind-expanding screenplays for "Being John Malkovich", "Human Nature", "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and "Adaptation" were all audacious and original, but the movies were running on fumes at the end. For Kaufman, the devil was in the details of finding his way out of the cerebral maze in which he isolated his characters.
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is not only his most accessible and romantic screenplay, it's his most complete. The third act works like a charm and pulls all his themes, characters and conflicts together beautifully.
The film will appeal to Jim Carrey fans and women drawn by Kate Winslet, but there will be a strong core audience of young and older adults who can't wait to see the latest Kaufman brain-tickler. None will be disappointed. Focus Features should enjoy above-average boxoffice for this spotless confection.
The references to the mind and brain in the preceding paragraphs are apt because the movie basically takes place in the mind of Joel Barish (Carrey). Barish knows his relationship with live-in girlfriend Clementine (Winslet) is unraveling, but he gets the shock of his life when he learns that she has had her memory of him completely erased from her mind. Rushing to see the inventor of this process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), he impulsively decides to undergo the procedure too.
After taking a knockout pill at night, Joel falls into a deep sleep while two of Mierzwiak's assistants, Stan (Mark Ruffalo) and Patrick (Elijah Wood), enter his apartment in Yonkers and strap on memory-erasing headgear. Using a map of Clementine's presence in Joel's brain that Dr. Mierzwiak traced the previous day, the brain-scanning device searches and destroys each memory one by one.
The movie now divides into two realities. In one, in Joel's bedroom, Stan and Patrick -- later joined by another office assistant and Stan's girlfriend, Mary (Kirsten Dunst) -- raid Joel's liquor and start to party even as the procedure continues. Patrick's tongue loosens, and he confesses that he fell in love with Clementine while zapping her memories of Joel. Using what he knows about her life and attraction to Joel, Patrick has unethically wormed his way into her bed.
Stan is mildly disconcerted about this but is much more disturbed when his patient begins to resist the procedure and he must call Dr. Mierzwiak for backup.
Which brings us to the second reality -- in Joel's mind. As his memories of Clementine vanish, Joel begins to realize how much he will miss her and what an impact her impetuous nature made on his orderly, over-regulated life. He tries desperately to hide his memory of her in places in his life she never visited. The movie then becomes a race between Joel's frantic efforts to cling to a piece of Clementine and the mad scientists in pursuit of those memories.
Director Michel Gondry, a French music video director who made his directorial debut with Kaufman's "Human Nature", beautifully orchestrates Ellen Kuras' cinematography, Dan Leigh's production design and Valdis Oskarsdottir's editing so memories merge and evaporate seemingly in a single shot. Joel and Clementine move through space as the scenes behind them change and morph like animation cels gone mad.
It's a wonderful concept -- to see a couple relive their life together, going backward, but able to make comments on what each was thinking and to see how each may have misread the other. Most exciting of all is that third act, where characters who no longer know one another must find each other again using the heart and not the mind.
Carrey takes all his usual antic energy and bottles it up tight to portray an anal man both attracted and repelled by Winslet's free spirit who changes her attitudes almost as frequently as her hair color. Wilkinson gives the doctor such a calm intelligence that you almost forget what an appalling device he has invented. Ruffalo is goofy and unthinking, while Wood's puppy love for a former patient has a genuinely nasty side, the equivalent of psychological rape. Dunst is deep into hero worship of all the scientists, especially Wilkinson's gentle guru, without realizing the implications of that hero worship.
For all its science fiction plot, "Eternal Sunshine" is no special-effects extravaganza. The emphasis is always on the characters, their hearts and minds.
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
Focus Features
Anonymous Content
Credits:
Director: Michael Gondry
Screenwriter: Charlie Kaufman
Story: Charlie Kaufman, Michael Gondry, Pierre Bismuth
Producers: Steve Golin, Anthony Bergman
Executive producer: David Bushness, Charlie Kaufman, Glenn Williamson, Georges Bermann
Director of photography: Ellen Kuras
Production designer: Dan Leigh
Music: Jon Brion
Costume designer: Melissa Toth
Editor: Valdis Oskarsdottir
Cast:
Joel Barish: Jim Carrey
Clementine Kruczynski: Kate WInslet
May: Kirsten Dunst
Stan: Mark Ruffalo
Patrick: Elijah Wood
Dr. Mierzwiak: Tom Wilkinson
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Friday, March 19
Charlie Kaufman has finally nailed that elusive third act.
The concepts for his mind-expanding screenplays for "Being John Malkovich", "Human Nature", "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and "Adaptation" were all audacious and original, but the movies were running on fumes at the end. For Kaufman, the devil was in the details of finding his way out of the cerebral maze in which he isolated his characters.
"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is not only his most accessible and romantic screenplay, it's his most complete. The third act works like a charm and pulls all his themes, characters and conflicts together beautifully.
The film will appeal to Jim Carrey fans and women drawn by Kate Winslet, but there will be a strong core audience of young and older adults who can't wait to see the latest Kaufman brain-tickler. None will be disappointed. Focus Features should enjoy above-average boxoffice for this spotless confection.
The references to the mind and brain in the preceding paragraphs are apt because the movie basically takes place in the mind of Joel Barish (Carrey). Barish knows his relationship with live-in girlfriend Clementine (Winslet) is unraveling, but he gets the shock of his life when he learns that she has had her memory of him completely erased from her mind. Rushing to see the inventor of this process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), he impulsively decides to undergo the procedure too.
After taking a knockout pill at night, Joel falls into a deep sleep while two of Mierzwiak's assistants, Stan (Mark Ruffalo) and Patrick (Elijah Wood), enter his apartment in Yonkers and strap on memory-erasing headgear. Using a map of Clementine's presence in Joel's brain that Dr. Mierzwiak traced the previous day, the brain-scanning device searches and destroys each memory one by one.
The movie now divides into two realities. In one, in Joel's bedroom, Stan and Patrick -- later joined by another office assistant and Stan's girlfriend, Mary (Kirsten Dunst) -- raid Joel's liquor and start to party even as the procedure continues. Patrick's tongue loosens, and he confesses that he fell in love with Clementine while zapping her memories of Joel. Using what he knows about her life and attraction to Joel, Patrick has unethically wormed his way into her bed.
Stan is mildly disconcerted about this but is much more disturbed when his patient begins to resist the procedure and he must call Dr. Mierzwiak for backup.
Which brings us to the second reality -- in Joel's mind. As his memories of Clementine vanish, Joel begins to realize how much he will miss her and what an impact her impetuous nature made on his orderly, over-regulated life. He tries desperately to hide his memory of her in places in his life she never visited. The movie then becomes a race between Joel's frantic efforts to cling to a piece of Clementine and the mad scientists in pursuit of those memories.
Director Michel Gondry, a French music video director who made his directorial debut with Kaufman's "Human Nature", beautifully orchestrates Ellen Kuras' cinematography, Dan Leigh's production design and Valdis Oskarsdottir's editing so memories merge and evaporate seemingly in a single shot. Joel and Clementine move through space as the scenes behind them change and morph like animation cels gone mad.
It's a wonderful concept -- to see a couple relive their life together, going backward, but able to make comments on what each was thinking and to see how each may have misread the other. Most exciting of all is that third act, where characters who no longer know one another must find each other again using the heart and not the mind.
Carrey takes all his usual antic energy and bottles it up tight to portray an anal man both attracted and repelled by Winslet's free spirit who changes her attitudes almost as frequently as her hair color. Wilkinson gives the doctor such a calm intelligence that you almost forget what an appalling device he has invented. Ruffalo is goofy and unthinking, while Wood's puppy love for a former patient has a genuinely nasty side, the equivalent of psychological rape. Dunst is deep into hero worship of all the scientists, especially Wilkinson's gentle guru, without realizing the implications of that hero worship.
For all its science fiction plot, "Eternal Sunshine" is no special-effects extravaganza. The emphasis is always on the characters, their hearts and minds.
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
Focus Features
Anonymous Content
Credits:
Director: Michael Gondry
Screenwriter: Charlie Kaufman
Story: Charlie Kaufman, Michael Gondry, Pierre Bismuth
Producers: Steve Golin, Anthony Bergman
Executive producer: David Bushness, Charlie Kaufman, Glenn Williamson, Georges Bermann
Director of photography: Ellen Kuras
Production designer: Dan Leigh
Music: Jon Brion
Costume designer: Melissa Toth
Editor: Valdis Oskarsdottir
Cast:
Joel Barish: Jim Carrey
Clementine Kruczynski: Kate WInslet
May: Kirsten Dunst
Stan: Mark Ruffalo
Patrick: Elijah Wood
Dr. Mierzwiak: Tom Wilkinson
Running time -- 107 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 3/12/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Producer John Lyons has been named of president of production at Focus Features, stepping into the post that Glenn Williamson is vacating in favor of a producing pact with the Universal Pictures specialty film unit. Lyons will be based in New York, where he will report to Focus co-presidents David Linde and James Schamus, who announced the appointment Friday. Although Williamson will not segue into his new role until sometime in the fall, Lyons will join Focus in a consulting capacity this month, allowing a smooth transition between the two. With Lyons aboard, Focus will shift the focus of its production activities back to New York. In its previous incarnation as USA Films, the company was headed by chairman Scott Greenstein and president of production Donna Gigliotti, both firmly rooted in New York. But when Gigliotti left the company in 2001, she was replaced by former DreamWorks exec Williamson, who set up shop in Los Angeles.
- 7/13/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Focus Features' Los Angeles-based production president, Glenn Williamson, is stepping down from his post to segue to a first-look producing deal with the Vivendi Universal specialty arm. The company said Thursday that the transition will occur "over the next few months" as Williamson remains to secure the completion of Focus' fall releases. No replacement has been named. However, sources said Focus was nearing a deal to bring in a new production head from New York, where co-heads David Linde and James Schamus run the specialty division. Producer John Lyons, whose most recent project is United Artists' upcoming Pieces of April, is believed to be the leading contender, though a Focus spokesperson would not comment on that possibility.
- 7/11/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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