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Aclu to 'Modern Family': Let Cam and Mitch Tie the Knot
4 hours ago
Americans love Cam and Mitch, from Barack and Michelle Obama to Anne and Mitt Romney. The two men aren't just the funniest duo on ABC's hit sitcom "Modern Family," they're easily the most visible fictional gay couple in the U.S--and perhaps the nation's most visible gay couple, period. Along with their adoptive daughter, Cam and Mitch are funny, engaging and relatable: the perfect manifestation of the show's title. One thing they aren't, however, is married. That's something the American Civil Liberties Union--one of the oldest and most influential civil rights groups in the country--thinks it's time to change. "America wants to see Cam & Mitch get hitched on Modern Family," a new action page on the Aclu's website reads, inviting visitors to sign up and 'RSVP' to the couple's wedding. (Or rather, to their wedding episode.) The Aclu plans to deliver the guest list to the show's producers. This isn't »
- Jacob Combs
'Star Trek into Darkness' Falling Short in Crowded Market
5 hours ago
J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek Into Darkness" (Paramount) grossed $22 million yesterday, for a total of $35.5 million since its IMAX-only debut on Wednesday (other theaters were added Thursday). This fell short of the almost $27 million that Abrams' 2009 reboot took in its initial Friday (after $4 million on its first day), so overall it is still ahead. But it looks less likely to equal the earlier film's total of $79 million through its first weekend. "Into Darkness" had the benefit of 3-D presentation in many theaters, with higher ticket prices, so the dropoff is even more significant. What is better for the film is its international performance so far, where Paramount made a push to boost the series' profile; "Star Trek" has traditionally fared better in the U.S. than overseas. In initial territories (most of the world opened this weekend or has yet to show the film) it took in $47 million, all were ahead of past performance. »
- Tom Brueggemann
Cannes Fest Diary 2: Dull Coppola, Brilliant 'A Touch of Sin'
9 hours ago
I began the search for a room in Cannes quite late. I checked hotels.com, home to “Cheap Hotels, Discounts, Hotel Deals and Offers,” which is why I was a bit taken aback when my first offer was for a week at the Carlton for $52,000. What I wound up with was not quite the Carlton; it’s more of a bed with walls adjacent, a former maid’s quarters located on the ground floor of a very large complex; any resemblance to a prison cell, known or unknown, is entirely a coincidence. (Apparently, maids were expected to travel light.) But I exaggerate: there is actually considerable walking space on one side of the bed, and a bathroom that in a former life was probably a piece of pie. The sink is so small that it almost entirely fits beneath a narrow shelf, making brushing one’s teeth a challenge unless »
- Tom Christie
Variety Takes a Hatchet To Warner Bros. Movie Chief Jeff Robinov
17 May 2013 7:07 PM, PDT
It had to happen sooner or later. New Variety editor Claudia Eller has taken off the gloves and run a tough story about once rock-solid studio Warner Bros., which has been under management duress of late. Ex-l.A. Times staffer Eller is one of three editors in charge at the Penske-owned Variety; she runs film coverage, while Cynthia Littleton supervises TV and Andrew Wallenstein manages all things Digital. Eller reports that movie studio chief Jeff Robinov threw a hissy fit when he didn't get the top job that went to rival Kevin Tsujihara instead. Given that TV chief Bruce Rosenblum decided to leave the studio altogether when he didn't land the post, it is presumably in the studio's interest to hang on to Robinov at this point, who reportedly apologized to his bosses and has been on his best behavior. I've been worried about Robinov's longevity partly because he is »
- Anne Thompson
Outfest Opens with Sedaris Adaptation 'C.O.G.,' Kimberly Peirce Gets Achievement Award
17 May 2013 6:19 PM, PDT
L.A.'s oldest film festival, Outfest, will open its 31st annual Lgbt film fest on July 11 with writer-director Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s “C.O.G.,” the first film adaptation of David Sedaris’s work, which stars Jonathan Groff, Denis O'Hare, Corey Stoll, and Dean Stockwell. Outfest will be held July 11 – 21, 2013. That same night at the Orpheum Theatre, Outfest will also present its 17th annual Achievement Award to writer/director Kimberly Peirce (“Boys Don’t Cry,” “Stop-Loss,” “Carrie”). The Achievement Award is presented in recognition of a body of work that has made a significant contribution to Lgbt film and media. Outfest has previously given this award to John Waters, Jane Lynch, Bill Condon, Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, Don Roos, Donna Deitch, Kenneth Anger, Greg Araki, Todd Haynes, Jane Anderson, Christine Vachon, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Freidman, Gus Van Sant, Ian McKellen, John Schlesinger, and Strand Releasing. The complete lineup for Outfest 2013 will be announced. »
- Anne Thompson
Cannes Review: Ari Folman's Hybrid 'The Congress' Befuddles More than It Bedazzles
17 May 2013 5:43 PM, PDT
Ari Folman’s “The Congress” begins well enough, with the sheer physical presence of Robin Wright center screen, tears popping from her eyes. The actress, who in real life has aged gracefully into strength – or maybe it’s just bitterness -- plays “Robin Wright,” an aging actress who has made many “lousy choices.” We know this from her agent, played with sweet understatement by Harvey Keitel, who spares nothing and no one, including the “lousy men” Wright has chosen. Is that one of the movie’s many in-jokes? Sitting in the home she shares with her two teenagers, a renovated airplane hanger located right next to an airport in the California desert, Keitel goes on to inform her that the studio, the nicely named Miramount, wants to discuss a new contract; it’s obvious something is up but he doesn’t know what exactly. The what is the crux of the film, »
- Tom Christie
Best of the Week: Cannes Begins, Interviews, Reviews, News and More
17 May 2013 5:24 PM, PDT
The top stories of the week from Toh! Cannes: Harvey Weinstein Previews Awards Slate at Cannes Cannes Interview: David Lowery Talks 'Ain't Them Bodies Saints' (Exclusive Video) Cannes Virgin Festival Diary 1: From "Gatsby" to "Heli" and Back Cannes Exclusive! Jim Mickle Talks Smart Horror Remake "We Are What We Are" Cannes Review: Coppola's "The Bling Ring" Cannes Interview: Ryan Coogler Talks Honoring Oscar Grant, Slain at "Fruitvale Station" (Trailer) IFC Goes on Cannes Buying Spree Cannes: Scarlett Johansson to Direct Adaptation of Truman Capote's Near-Lost Novel "Summer Crossing" Spielberg and Competition Jury Tell It Like It Is in Cannes "The Great Gatsby" Launches Cannes, Luhrmann Reveals Wrangling with Warners Cannes Exclusive: Ari Folman Talks Fortnight Opener "The Congress," Which Predicts Hollywood's Chilling Future (Trailer) Features: Immersed in Movies: VFX Retrofitting for Abrams' Hybrid Vision of Old and New in "Star Trek Into »
- TOH!
Cannes Interview: David Lowery Talks 'Ain't Them Bodies Saints' (Exclusive Video)
17 May 2013 5:07 PM, PDT
Writer-director David Lowery has been putting in his 10,000 hours over the past few years, working as an editor and cinematographer on many of his friends' micro-budget projects, as part of the growing multi-tasking barter indie culture. He's helped many of the geographically disparate friends he's met on the festival circuit with their films; he edited with director Shane Carruth the much-talked-about "Upstream Color," now in limited release. SXSW has championed the Texas filmmaker, playing his shorts and features; "Saint Nick" showed promise on a meager $12,000 budget. Lowery's 2011 Sundance short "Pioneer" was a ramp-up to his exquisitely crafted neo-noir western, "Ain't Them Bodies Saints," which was picked up by IFC Films after its rapturous reception at Sundance, and is playing Saturday during the Cannes Film Festival's Critics Week. IFC will release the film in August. See my video interview with Lowery below. What's more -- the filmmaker is now attached to direct "The Old. »
- Anne Thompson
End of an Era: Musto Leaves Voice, Is Carter On Way Out of Vanity Fair?
17 May 2013 3:10 PM, PDT
Editor Graydon Carter, 63, has been a fixture at Vanity Fair since 1992. Keith Kelly reports that he's having a bumpy time renegotiating his contract, which is up in July, with Conde Nast CEO Charles Townsend, rather than S.I. Newhouse. Carter has enjoyed his expansive lifestyle, riding the magazine through more heady times, from annual Oscar and Cannes bashes and power lists to dabbling in documentary filmmaking. But things are tighter now, and I would caution Carter to remember the post-Conde Nast career of Tina Brown. While she did well at Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, Harvey Weinstein lured her away to run Talk Magazine, which flopped; she then tried television punditry, wrote bestselling bio "The Diana Chronicles," and finally landed at The Daily Beast and Newsweek. If Carter's time has come, his replacements are lining up. Kelly cites star New York editor Adam Moss, who is probably the most gifted editor of his generation, »
- Anne Thompson
Harvey Weinstein Previews Awards Slate at Cannes
17 May 2013 2:02 PM, PDT
Harvey Weinstein took advantage of Cannes' many attendees to gather some of them together in order to tease TWC's upcoming films and get a head start on the next round of Awards season. That has been the modus operandi of The Weinstein in recent years, which had held more intimate affairs at swanky flats off the Croisette and today opted for a make-shift screening room (after obligatory cocktails and hors d'oeuvres in an adjoining room). "The last four years have been amazing with movies like 'The King's Speech,' 'Django Unchained,' 'Silver Linings Playbook,' 'The Artist' -- we've reached new heights," said Harvey Weinstein, squeezed into a dapper tux. "Last year was as good as any year at Miramax. Our international business keeps building as well." With a packed room of about a couple hundred press, festival programmers and special guests, Weinstein thanked »
- Brian Brooks
Immersed in Movies: VFX Retrofitting for Abrams' Hybrid Vision of Old and New in 'Star Trek Into Darkness'
17 May 2013 11:36 AM, PDT
Like "Skyfall," "Star Trek Into Darkness" is a hybrid of the old and the new in completing its rite of passage reboot. Except that J.J. Abrams has the advantage of time travel, which he introduced in the first movie, for creating a parallel universe that allows him to break the rules of the beloved sci-fi franchise for the 21st century while still honoring its iconic spirit. This hybrid vision rippled throughout the entire "Into Darkness" production, including VFX. Industrial Light & Magic was back on board, building on the foundation that it began in Abrams' first "Star Trek," with a harder and more believable space movie. But with half the movie shot in IMAX for the thrilling action sequences and the introduction of 3-D, the VFX obviously had to be grander and more immersive. The filmmakers got to go deeper into the tricked out Enterprise so that we could experience more »
- Bill Desowitz
In the Works: David O. Russell to Direct Leonardo DiCaprio's JFK Conspiracy Thriller 'Legacy of Secrecy,' Robert De Niro On Board
17 May 2013 11:26 AM, PDT
Long-gestating JFK assassination conspiracy film "Legacy of Secrecy" is reportedly finally coming to fruition, with director David O. Russell at the helm. First announced in 2010 by Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way banner, the film centers on FBI informant Jack Laningham and Mafia kingpin Carlos Marcello (to be played by Robert De Niro) who confided to Laningham that he ordered the hit on Kennedy. No specific word on who would play Laningham, but the Playlist understandably presumes it would be DiCaprio. The film is based on the book by Lamar Waldron and Thom Hartmann, and adapting it has long been a passion project for DiCaprio's father, George. November of this year marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination, and a number of JFK-oriented projects have wheels spinning. "Parkland," starring a sprawling cast including Paul Giamatti, Jacki Weaver and Billy Bob Thornton, and produced by Tom Hanks, went into production in January, »
- Beth Hanna
Cannes News: Music Box Snags Competition Mikkelsen Starrer 'Michael Kohlhaas'
17 May 2013 11:24 AM, PDT
Ahead of its first Cannes market screening, Chicago-based Music Box Films has picked up all Us and Canadian rights to Arnaud des Pallières' competition title "Michael Kohlhaas," starring Mads Mikkelsen and adapted from the 1811 Heinrich von Kleist classic Romantic novel. Films du Losange is selling the film, which is Des Pallières' fourth feature, at Cannes. Des Pallières describes the film as: "set in a period where an impoverished aristocracy precariously still clings to feudal privileges passed down since the Middle Ages, while in the towns, a new world is taking shape. The townspeople are educated, often wealthy, but politically almost powerless. Kohlhaas, a horse merchant, suffers an injustice at the hands of a young baron and demands his rights, but society lets him down. He reacts by suddenly, brutally declaring war on society. He chooses the path of violence, with a razor-sharp sense of justice as his only moral guideline. »
- Anne Thompson
Weekend Preview: 'Frances Ha' Delights, 'Star Trek' Relentlessly Entertains, 'Pieta' a Bloody Must-See
17 May 2013 10:45 AM, PDT
Moviegoing prospects looks good this weekend, as J.J. Abrams' entertaining action comedy "Star Trek Into Darkness" continues its opening weekend after a Wednesday debut, and a slew of appealing limited release titles hit screens. One of these is Noah Baumbach's critical darling "Frances Ha," starring likable muse Greta Gerwig in a drifting, French New Wave Lite tale of twentysomething ennui and platonic breakups. Cesar nominee "Augustine," a formally solid if dynamically lacking debut from Alice Winocour, which stars Vincent Lindon and popstar Soko as famed French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot and his favored hysteria patient, is getting praise from critics. Last year's uber-violent but stylish Venice Golden Lion winner "Pieta," Kim Ki-duk's bloody thriller about a son and his mysterious would-be mother, is also earning good reviews. Katie Aselton's feminist survival thriller "Black Rock" is sitting in bottom place with mediocre reviews, though the film, which stars Aselton, »
- Beth Hanna
Drink Like Don Draper and Philip Marlowe (If You Dare) with the Cocktail Chart of Film and Literature
17 May 2013 10:41 AM, PDT
Popchart Labs is highlighting a ridiculously fun bit of wall decoration: The Cocktail Chart of Film and Literature. The crisp light blue poster features the signature drinks (and recipes!) of some of our favorite literary, film and television (anti-) heroes and heroines. A few highlights include Don Draper's Old Fashioned, Philip Marlowe's Gin Gimlet, Daisy Buchanan's Mint Julep and, er, Hannibal Lechter's Chianti. Since the poster contains 49 drinks, you can view a zoomed-in version of it here. »
- Beth Hanna
Watch: Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Renner in First Clip from James Gray's Cannes Competitor 'The Immigrant' (Video)
17 May 2013 9:22 AM, PDT
Check out this first brief clip from James Gray's Cannes competition title "The Immigrant," starring Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner, which centers on a woman's turbulent immigration from her native Poland to New York City. In the clip, Renner's character offers some advice to Cotillard's troubled Ewa, who is bedecked in a 1920s embellished headband and frock. The film is Gray's first since 2008's "Two Lovers," also starring Phoenix. It premieres late next week on Friday, May 24. Here's a more detailed plot synopsis:1920. In search of a new start and the American dream, Ewa Cybulski (Marion Cotillard) and her sister Magda sail to New York from their native Poland. When they reach Ellis Island, doctors discover that Magda is ill, and the two women are separated. Ewa is released onto the mean streets of Manhattan while her sister is quarantined. Alone, with nowhere to turn and desperate to reunite with Magda, »
- Beth Hanna
Casting Watch: Blunt Joins Depp, Streep, Pine and Gyllenhaal for Disney's Sondheim Musical 'Into the Woods' Update
17 May 2013 8:51 AM, PDT
Update: Emily Blunt has nabbed the lead female role of the Baker's Wife in Broadway musical choreographer-turned-director Rob Marshall's ("Chicago") screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece "Into the Woods." She joins a knockout cast of Meryl Streep, who will play the Witch, Johnny Depp as the Wolf, Jake Gyllenhaal and Chris Pine as two princes and James Cordon ("One Man Two Guvnors") as the Baker. In "Into the Woods," the evil witch (Streep in the film) casts a spell on an unfortunate baker and his wife; they want a child, so they venture into the woods to try and find the witch. The only danger here is for Marshall's film version is that he's a big-spender; the period movie is starting to look expensive. David Krane (“Chicago,” “Nine”) is writing original music for the film, while James Lapine has adapted his book for the musical. Marshall’s producer »
- Anne Thompson and Beth Hanna
Trailers from Hell: Joe Dante on Peter Bogdanovich's Directorial Debut 'Targets'
17 May 2013 8:29 AM, PDT
Bullets Don't Argue! week concludes at Trailers from Hell with director and Tfh creator Joe Dante introducing Peter Bogdanovich's harrowing directorial debut, "Targets."“Targets” was made independently and sold to Paramount, becoming an effective calling card for his career in the majors. In the wake of the rash of 1968 political assassinations the studio got cold feet and slapped on a misjudged gun control card at the beginning. Bogdanovich plays a film director named Sammy Michaels in tribute to Samuel Fuller, whose middle name was Michael and who refused screen credit for his contributions to the screenplay. This reissue trailer leans heavily on the director's "The Last Picture Show" fame. The original trailer can be seen here. It could almost have been assembled right after Sandy Hook by the Brady Campaign. »
- Trailers From Hell
Cannes Virgin Festival Diary 1: From 'Gatsby' to 'Heli' and Back
16 May 2013 5:56 PM, PDT
The first indication that things at Cannes weren’t going to be quite as I imagined them to be – red carpet and champagne, rinse and repeat – was the crush trying to get on the express bus from the Nice airport. The bus was 20 minutes late in arriving from Cannes, and there was a lot of jockeying going on, which is a nice way of saying butting in line, except there were no real lines, not to mention not enough seats. As the harried driver pulled away a woman in the back began yelling for him to stop, exclaiming, “You didn’t take my husband or my bags. I need both.” The driver stopped and the woman exited to general laughter. The driver did not seem entirely amused, however, and drove the highway and then down the narrow, winding streets of Cannes as if directed by Paul Greengrass. In fact, I »
- Tom Christie
Weinstein Co. Green Lights 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' Sequel with Michelle Yeoh
16 May 2013 1:56 PM, PDT
Without Ang Lee or Sony, the Weinstein Company is starting production of a sequel to the Oscar-winning "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," which earned six Oscar nominations including best picture and grossed $213.5 million million worldwide. Its $128 million stateside gross made it the highest grossing foreign-language film in American history. The Weinsteins have done well in the past with such Asian films as "Hero" and "Iron Monkey," which is directed by famed martial arts choreographer and director director Yuen Wo Ping, who will direct a returning Michelle Yeoh and star Donnie Yen (Silent Wolf) in the sequel. Harvey Weinstein, Yuen and Yen will be participating in a press conference on Saturday in Cannes to discuss the production. "Crouching Tiger" was a unique cross-cultural event, as American screenwriter James Schamus collaborated on the original Chinese language screenplay, helping to westernize it for the world stage, and Taiwan-born Lee --who happens to be on this year's. »
- Anne Thompson
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