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'What Maisie Knew' Writer Waited 18 Years to Make Film Adaptation of Henry James
6 hours ago
Film has the power to take you inside someone's head. And that's what under-appreciated aces Scott McGehee and David Siegel do with well-reviewed "What Maisie Knew," which opens Friday. They show what a sweet smart young girl feels (sharp-as-tack Onata Aprile) as she watches her selfish, narcissistic parents, a rock star (Julianne Moore) and an art dealer (Steve Coogan), break up. She soon realizes that they are ill-equipped to pay her much heed, much less look after her daily needs. So like a flower to the light, she turns to her attentive nanny (Joanna Vanderham) and her mom's hunky new boyfriend (Alexander Skarsgard). "I love him," she tells her babysitter. So, it turns out, does she. Painter-turned-writer Carroll Cartwright and partner Nancy Doyne first wrote this script 18 years ago when he was a working screenwriter ("Jumanji," "Pearl Harbor," "Where the Money Is") in Venice, California. It's based on the 1897 Henry James novel, »
- Anne Thompson
Filmmaker Top Ten Lists, from Fassbinder, Haneke and Almodovar to Scorsese, Tarantino and More
8 hours ago
A year before his death in 1982, vigorously prolific German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder -- whose filmography includes over 40 films and the epic TV mini-series "World on a Wire" and "Berlin Alexanderplatz" -- published a list of his top 10 favorite films. It's fascinating to see how each of these films influenced him. Fassbinder's favorite film was Visconti's "The Damned," a visually sumptuous portrayal of societal collapse and excess in Third Reich Germany and no doubt an influence on the German auteur's own "Brd Trilogy," in particular the bawdy bordello-set "Lola." Fassbinder also named Max Ophuls' 1955 "Lola Montes," a tragic tale of a kept woman shot in the kind of gloriously rendered color Fassbinder would later employ in his own work. And as with a number of top 10 lists compiled by confrontational filmmakers, Pasolini's beautifully ugly descent into hell "Salo" was also a favorite of Fassbinder's, as it is for Michael Haneke. »
- Ryan Lattanzio
2013 Los Angeles Film Festival Lineup Revealed: 'Fruitvale Station,' 'Only God Forgives,' 'The Way, Way Back' and More
9 hours ago
The Los Angeles Film Festival unveiled its official lineup Wednesday morning. Though it was previously announced that Pedro Almodovar's new film "I'm So Excited" is the opening night selection, and that David O. Russell will be the guest director, the lineup has now expanded to include three Sundance favorites -- Fox Searchlight's pickup "The Way, Way Back," TWC acquisition, Grand Jury Prize winner "Fruitvale Station" and David Lowery's critics' fave "Ain't Them Bodies Saints" (IFC), as well as the North American premiere of Nicolas Winding Refn's Cannes-bound "Only God Forgives." Other notable films hailing from the festival circuit include Lake Bell's "In a World" and documentaries "The Act of Killing," directed by Joshua Oppenheimer and Christine Cynn, and "Our Nixon," by Penny Lane. Laff will also offer free public screenings of favorites such as John Waters' "Hairspray" (1988) and Richard Linklater's "Dazed and Confused." Ava DuVernay's Venus Williams documentary. »
- Ryan Lattanzio
'Iron Man 3' Review and Roundup: Downey, Jr. in Top Form as Smart Superhero (Trailer)
9 hours ago
Marvel's "Iron Man 3" finally opens stateside--after breaking box office records overseas-- on May 3. This one marks a huge improvement on the disappointing second, which had to carry water for the upcoming "Avengers," and was, director Jon Favreau has admitted, like "juggling chainsaws." The latest installment, directed by ace writer-actioner Shane Black ("Kiss Kiss Bang Bang") is so pixel-heavy that it's certainly heading for several tech Oscar nominations, including VFX. Wisely, the well-constructed script gives iron-clad billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) some human-scale time to rely on his wits and abilities as a "mechanic"--most satisfyingly, with a great kid (Ty Simpkins) who helps him out while his beat-up Iron Man suit is recharging--before (Spoiler Alert) all his obsessive-compulsive tinkering in the form of multiple smart robot Iron Men arrive like "Transformers"-inspired cavalry for the climactic battle. The script satisfyingly finds time for loyal buds »
- Anne Thompson
Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Inherent Vice' to Begin Shooting This Month
10 hours ago
Paul Thomas Anderson isn't waiting around to get his next project started, As initially reported by Cigarettes & Red Vines, the auteur will begin principal photography this month on his follow-up to "The Master," "Inherent Vice." Warner Bros. is financing the project. Robert Elswit, who has worked with Anderson and won an Oscar in 2008 for "There Will Be Blood," will return as director of photography. And Anderson, remaining impervious to digital, has chosen to shoot on 35mm film stock. (Warners' chief Jeff Robinov is used to this with Christopher Nolan.) Based on the noir-ish novel by Thomas Pynchon, "Inherent Vice" takes place at the end of the 60s in Los Angeles, centering on the foibles and follies of pot-smoking private eye Doc Sportello. While Robert Downey, Jr. was rumored to star, Anderson has elected to reunite with never dull actor's actor and "The Master" Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix, who will play Sportello. »
- Ryan Lattanzio
Sundance Channel Renews 'Rectify' for a Second Season (Trailer)
10 hours ago
Just before its fourth episode airs this Sunday, the life-after-death-row drama "Rectify" has been renewed by the Sundance Channel for a second season. Along with Jane Campion's gorgeous and moody miniseries "Top of the Lake" (now streaming on Netflix), "Rectify" is part of the channel's recent dive into serialized, high-quality drama, much like sister network AMC, which aired the two-hour season premiere last Sunday. Written and created by actor Ray McKinnon ("Mud"), who's had recurring roles on HBO's "Deadwood" and FX's "Sons of Anarchy, "Rectify" stars Aden Young as a man attempting to pick up the pieces after 20 years spent on death row (Indiewire's interview with McKinnon here). The series has already generated critical praise. You can watch the season premiere on Sundance Channel's website here. »
- Ryan Lattanzio
Webby Awards Founder Tiffany Shlain to Create Original Web Series 'The Future Starts Here' for AOL (Video)
10 hours ago
San Francisco-based filmmaker and Webby Awards founder Tiffany Shlain has signed on with AOL to create an original eight-episode web series for the company's video hub On Network. Using archival footage, animation and personal anecdotes, "The Future Starts Here" -- which will be produced by Shlain's own production company The Moxie Institute -- explores human identity and connectedness in the post-internet age. Shlain, who is an adept self-promoter, similarly broached this topic in her 2011 documentary "Connected: An Autobiography About Love, Death and Technology." Shlain joins a roster of web-worthy celebs -- including Sarah Jessica Parker, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jonathan Adler -- who will soon be launching web series on AOL On Network. Watch the trailer for "The Future Starts Here" below. »
- Ryan Lattanzio
CinemaCon: Lionsgate Puts 'Hunger Games: Catching Fire' Front and Center
30 April 2013 1:28 PM, PDT
Indie Lionsgate, run for the last 12 years by CEO Jon Feltheimer and co-chairman Michael Burns, is now widely considered to be Hollywood's seventh studio. It has built its reputation via such breakouts as the Oscar-winning "Crash" and "Monster's Ball," as well as a succession of horror ("Saw") and action ("The Expendables") as well as comedy hits from the likes of Tyler Perry. Lionsgate also acquired a number of libraries, including Trimark, Artisan and Mandate, whose chief Joe Drake ran the motion picture side until he was replaced after the Summit Entertainment merger by Patrick Wachsberger and Rob Friedman. One reason they were eager to merge the two companies on the verge of the end of the "Twilight Saga" was Drake's acquisition of a little franchise called "Hunger Games" ($685 million worldwide). All the studios need some titles to rely on that buffer the risk of all the movies that might not work. »
- Anne Thompson
Seattle International Film Festival Lineup Includes 'The Bling Ring' and 'The Way, Way Back' (Trailers)
30 April 2013 12:10 PM, PDT
The always-burgeoning 39th Seattle International Film Festival (May 16-June 9) has selected its lineup. Along with a surfeit of world and Us premieres, Sofia Coppola's Cannes-bound "The Bling Ring" will screen, as well as Sundance hit "The Way, Way Back" (Indiewire's review). Joss Whedon will also present his much anticipated "Much Ado About Nothing." See the complete lineup at Indiewire here and watch trailers below. <iframe width="680" height="383" src="<a href="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AAMsDP_DMHE" >http:="" www.youtube.com="" embed="" aamsdp_dmhe<="" a>"="">http://www.youtube.com/embed/AAMsDP_DMHE">http://www.youtube.com/embe..." frameborder="0" allowfullscreen> »
- Ryan Lattanzio
Woody Allen Returns to France for Next Film Starring Colin Firth and Emma Stone
30 April 2013 12:06 PM, PDT
Woody Allen is returning to Europe this summer for the eighth time to shoot his next typically untitled comedy in southern France. British star Colin Firth and American actress Emma Stone topline the cast. The cinematographer is Darius Khondji, who worked on Allen's last two European films, "Midnight in Paris" and "To Rome with Love," as did production designer Anne Seibel and costume designer Sonia Grande. After shooting in England, Spain, France, and Italy, Allen returned to New York City to film "Blue Jasmine," starring Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin and Sally Hawkins, which will open July 26 via Sony Pictures Classics. The new film will be produced per usual by Gravier Productions' Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum. »
- Anne Thompson
Casting Watch: Lily James Joins Cate Blanchett in Kenneth Branagh's 'Cinderella'
30 April 2013 11:48 AM, PDT
Does the world really need another "Cinderella," or "Annie," or "Oz" installment? After a competitive casting search, 24-year old English actress Lily James, who plays Lady Rose MacClare on "Downton Abbey," has landed the coveted role of Cinderella in Kenneth Branagh's live-action Disney revamp. Clearly, Jon Favreau's beefy security guard in "Iron Man 3" isn't the only one watching a lot of the period PBS series. James joins Cate Blanchett, who befittingly plays the wicked stepmother. Producers are Simon Kinberg, David Barron and Allison Shearmur. Branagh, whose pedigree boasts screen adaptations of Shakespeare such as "Hamlet" and "As You Like It" as well as 2011's "Thor," stepped in earlier this year after "Never Let Me Go" director Mark Romanek left the project. »
- Anne Thompson and Ryan Lattanzio
HBO Signs Alex Gibney to Direct Sinatra Music Doc (Clips)
30 April 2013 11:05 AM, PDT
Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney ("Taxi to the Dark Side") has signed on to direct an untitled four-hour miniseries documentary on the life and music of Frank Sinatra. Alcon Television Group and Frank Sinatra Enterprises will produce the special, slated to premiere on HBO. The film will be a close examination of the singer's career and personal life, featuring never-before-seen archival footage such as home movies and private performances. Sinatra spanned decades as a top recording artist and performer as well as Hollywood star and leader of the Las Vegas rat pack. In 2005, Gibney was nominated for Best Documentary for "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room" before his "Taxi to the Dark Side" won in 2008. In February 2013, HBO premiered Gibney's "Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God," a documentary exploring pedophilia in the Catholic Church (Toh's interview with Gibney about that film is here). This summer, Focus Features »
- Ryan Lattanzio
San Francisco International Film Festival Begins with 'Twenty Feet from Stardom,' 'Populaire,' 'The Artist and the Model'
30 April 2013 9:49 AM, PDT
The first screening of the first full day of the San Francisco International Film Festival: Fernando Trueba's "The Artist and the Model," set in France in 1944, starring the irresistible duo of Jean Rochefort and Claudia Cardinale. I manage to find myself in a good seat, $4 cup o' Kabuki coffee clutched in my hand, and delicious sustenance from the fabulous Nijiya Market, located exactly in-between the two theaters on Post Street in Japantown where most of the festival unspools, secreted in my tote bag, having successfully negotiated the Bay Bridge and found a decent free parking space. Perfection! Except they can't get the Dcp to work. Programmer Sean Uyehara patiently explains to us that along with the digital cinema package, they're sent a digital key that will only unlock the print half-an-hour before it's scheduled to play. Which is when they discovered that the subtitles were out of synch. So they've requested a new key, »
- Meredith Brody
Cannes Announces Complete Camera d'Or and Un Certain Regard Juries, Agnes Varda and Thomas Vinterberg at the Helm
30 April 2013 9:14 AM, PDT
In Cannes news, juries have been rounded out for the Un Certain Regard sidebar as well as the Camera d'Or. It was previously announced that Danish director Thomas Vinterberg -- whose drama "The Hunt" was an official selection up for the Palme d'Or last year -- will lead the tribunal as president for Un Certain Regard. The other members are Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, French actress Ludivine Sagnier, Festival de Rio director Ilda Santiago and Enrique Gonzalez Macho, president of Spain's equivalent of AMPAS. The jury will award one of the eighteen films in the selection the Prix Un Certain Regard, which last year went to Michel Franco's "After Lucia." The Camera d'Or is an award given to the best film out of either the main competition, Critics' Week or Directors' Fortnight (last year's winner was Oscar Best Picture nominee "Beasts of the Southern Wild"). On the jury this »
- Ryan Lattanzio
2013 Tony Award Nominations: 'Kinky Boots' Leads with 13, Nods for Tom Hanks, Tony Shalhoub, Nora Ephron's 'Lucky Guy'
30 April 2013 8:48 AM, PDT
Nominations for the 2013 Tony Awards were announced Tuesday morning. The drag queen musical "Kinky Boots," inspired by the true story behind the 2005 film of the same name, is at the head of the class acts with 13 nominations including best musical. Cyndi Lauper, who wrote the music and lyrics for "Boots," received the nomination for best score while playwright and seasoned Tony winner Harvey Fierstein ("La Cage aux Folles") is up for best book. Dennis Kelly's "Matilda the Musical," based Roald Dahl's novel about a preternaturally gifted little girl, is close behind with 12 noms including best musical. Nora Ephron's final play "Lucky Guy" holds a place in six categories including best play and Tom Hanks for best actor. A few other notable Hollywood personalities appear on the ballot, including Tony Shalhoub for best featured actor ("Golden Boy") and Tracy Letts for best actor in Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? »
- Ryan Lattanzio
CinemaCon: Fox Launches 'Walter Mitty' Oscar Campaign, Bullock & McCarthy's 'The Heat'
29 April 2013 4:40 PM, PDT
Last year Twentieth Century Fox used its CinemaCon presentation to wow exhibitors with glorious footage from Ang Lee's "Life of Pi," and instantly established the 3-D epic as a major Oscar contender. This year, solo chairman Jim Gianopulos, no longer paired with now-departed Tom Rothman, introduced his upcoming slate with impressive footage from Ben Stiller's ambitious cinematic retelling of the classic James Thurber New Yorker short story, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." What's great about this updated story of a daydreamer (played by Stiller) is that the movie allows full rein (like "Slumdog Millionaire") to cut anywhere, anytime, into full-blown fantasies. Where this one seems to depart from the original (and the 1947 Danny Kaye movie) is that it allows our hero to act out his dreams and become a man. At least, that's what I got from the footage! The movie co-stars the always-welcome Kristen Wiig, as plodding »
- Anne Thompson
Will Participant's Latest Spanish Co-Production Expose Corporate Pollution?
29 April 2013 2:19 PM, PDT
Last week, it was announced that Julia Stiles and Scott Speedman would star in Lluis Quilez's "Out of the Dark," a supernatural thriller presented by Participant Media, the company known for producing films with a political bent, such as "An Inconvenient Truth" "Food, Inc," and "Lincoln." While Participant's Jonathan King said, “Given Participant’s mission to illuminate important issues, this is not your average ghost story," the company wasn't clear as to what political position the film would be taking on. But there is some evidence to suggest that the family at the center of the film may be haunted by corporate or ecological corruption. In the press release, King eluded to the fact that there were other issues involved in the film. "You can be sure that there’s a bigger reason why this takes place at this particular house in the Colombian jungle and to this particular family, »
- Anthony Kaufman
Listen: Steven Soderbergh on 'What's Killing Cinema,' A Fungible Algorithm (Podcast)
29 April 2013 12:11 PM, PDT
No State of Cinema address at the Sfiff has been as hotly anticipated as this year's by Steven Soderbergh. (Listen to our podcast recording below.) This is not only because he's a prolific and beloved auteur that has worked in every genre and budget, but because he recently announced his retirement from filmmaking, in order to spend more time painting, making collages, writing books, directing a new play by Scott Burns about Columbine, as well as a stage version of "Cleopatra," and exploring other avenues of creativity (sign up at his new website for upcoming news. Of course, Soderbergh allowed as how he was working on a 12-hour miniseries of John Barth's "The Sot-Weed Factor," so maybe he has a different idea of just what retiring from filmmaking constitutes than we did. Thankfully. Soderbergh was introduced by Executive Director Ted Hope, who said that the people you meet have »
- Meredith Brody
Women in Film's Crystal and Lucy Awards Go to Laura Linney, Sofia Coppola, George Lucas and 'Mad Men' Cast
29 April 2013 11:35 AM, PDT
La non-profit Women in Film, an organization committed to galvanizing support and visibility for women in the entertainment industry, has unveiled the winners for the 2013 Crystal and Lucy Awards. Honors will be given at a benefit gala on June 12 at the Beverly Hilton. Laura Linney, most recently seen opposite Bill Murray in "Hyde Park on Hudson," will receive the Crystal Award for excellence in film. The Lucy Award for excellence in television will go collectively to the female cast of AMC's 'Mad Men': Christina Hendricks, January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, Jessica Pare and Kiernan Shipka. Four additional prizes go to George Lucas, Sofia Coppola -- whose "Bling Ring" screens at Cannes this year -- and 16-year-old Hailee Steinfeld, of "True Grit" and the upcoming "Romeo and Juliet," who is Women in Film's Max Mara Face of the Future. Rachel Morrison, cinematographer of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner 'Fruitvale Station, »
- Ryan Lattanzio
Hot Docs: Technological Revolution, 'Total Disruption,' Stolen Privacy
29 April 2013 11:20 AM, PDT
“Isn’t it ironic that I’m having all these technical problems when I’m supposed to be talking about technology?” director Ondi Timoner asked a very patient (for awhile) Hot Docs audience Monday. Well, yeah, but it’s hardly the only irony that’s been on display here in Toronto. Just as Hot Docs prepares to break its own attendance records, Canada’s federal George W. Bush impersonators have been cutting doc funding to the CBC, Telefilm and the National Film Board of Canada (prompting sit-ins in Montreal and filmmaker Kevin McMahon, in the National Post, to make a case for the documentary as Canada’s official art form. Maybe then it would get as much respect as, say, lacrosse). The Nfb, at the same time, has been allowing its attention to be diverted toward transmedia projects, rather than traditional film, which is symptomatic of officialdom’s desperate-seeming effort to be hip. »
- John Anderson
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