Producers: Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Karen Lunder
Executive Producers: Zach Galifianakis, Douglas S. Jones
Directors: Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash, Jr.
Writer: Kristin Gore.
Director of Photography: Steven Meizler
Production Designer: Molly Hughes
Costume Designer: Reńee Ehrlich Kalfus
Editor: Jane Rizzo
Composers: Nathan Barr
Cast: Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook, Geraldine Viswanathan, Tracey Bonner, Carl Clemons-Hopkins
An AppleTV+ release, The Beanie Bubble examines a phenomenon of a certain era when the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold. Ty Warner was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history.…...
Executive Producers: Zach Galifianakis, Douglas S. Jones
Directors: Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash, Jr.
Writer: Kristin Gore.
Director of Photography: Steven Meizler
Production Designer: Molly Hughes
Costume Designer: Reńee Ehrlich Kalfus
Editor: Jane Rizzo
Composers: Nathan Barr
Cast: Zach Galifianakis, Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook, Geraldine Viswanathan, Tracey Bonner, Carl Clemons-Hopkins
An AppleTV+ release, The Beanie Bubble examines a phenomenon of a certain era when the world suddenly treat stuffed animals like gold. Ty Warner was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women grew his masterstroke of an idea into the biggest toy craze in history.…...
- 7/20/2023
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
With a jangle of French pop, Paul Feig’s suburban noir “A Simple Favor” begins. The detective is mommy blogger Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick). The case, as she tells her few thousand viewers, is her missing best friend Emily (Blake Lively), who vanished after asking Stephanie to watch her son (Ian Ho). The flashback tells the truth: Emily was no one’s friend. She was a bully, a drunk, and a narcissist. In this clever, knotty, and sporadically sexy thriller, flashbacks are the only thing that tell the truth, rushing to correct sidesteps and lies while the speaker is still talking, and even early on revealing a dark truth about Stephanie that suddenly exposes her character as not just a cardigan-clad Stepford caricature, but the Antigone of after-school snacks.
Paul Feig films are about women discovering they’re capable of summoning awesome, terrifying powers. They can become spies, bust ghosts,...
Paul Feig films are about women discovering they’re capable of summoning awesome, terrifying powers. They can become spies, bust ghosts,...
- 9/9/2018
- by Amy Nicholson
- Variety Film + TV
‘La La Land’ (Courtesy: Lionsgate)
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
The Costume Designers Guild honored three films across its three cinema-focused categories last night as Oscar voting came to a close: Mary Zophres for La La Land, Renee Ehrlich Kalfus for Hidden Figures, and Alexandra Byrne for Doctor Strange. With only Damien Chazelle’s modern musical of those three nominated in the best costume design category at the upcoming 89th Academy Awards, what are the chances that this film will ultimately go on to win this Sunday?
Nominees in the best costume design category at this year’s Oscars year include: Allied’s Joanna Johnson, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’s Colleen Atwood, Florence Foster Jenkins’ Consolata Boyle, Jackie’s Madeline Fontaine, and La La Land’s Mary Zophres. As we creep ever closer to the big night, The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg predicts that Fontaine — who...
By: Carson Blackwelder
Managing Editor
The Costume Designers Guild honored three films across its three cinema-focused categories last night as Oscar voting came to a close: Mary Zophres for La La Land, Renee Ehrlich Kalfus for Hidden Figures, and Alexandra Byrne for Doctor Strange. With only Damien Chazelle’s modern musical of those three nominated in the best costume design category at the upcoming 89th Academy Awards, what are the chances that this film will ultimately go on to win this Sunday?
Nominees in the best costume design category at this year’s Oscars year include: Allied’s Joanna Johnson, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’s Colleen Atwood, Florence Foster Jenkins’ Consolata Boyle, Jackie’s Madeline Fontaine, and La La Land’s Mary Zophres. As we creep ever closer to the big night, The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg predicts that Fontaine — who...
- 2/22/2017
- by Carson Blackwelder
- Scott Feinberg
With an Oscar in sight, “La La Land’s” Mary Zophres won the contemporary prize at the 19th Costume Designer Guild Awards Tuesday at the Beverly Hilton.
“Hidden Figures” (Renee Ehrlich Kalfus) was the surprising period film winner and “Doctor Strange” (Alexandra Byrne) took fantasy honors.
The Oscar race, though, still pits “La La Land” against “Jackie” (Madeline Fontaine).
TV winners included “American Horror Story: Roanoke” (contemporary) – Lou Eyrich, Helen Huang; “Game of Thrones” (fantasy) – Michele Clapton, April Ferry, and “The Crown” (period) – Michele Clapton.
The short form design award went to Pepsi: “Momotaro” Episode Four, featuring Jude Law — Ami Goodheart.
Additionally, Meryl Streep (“Florence Foster Jenkins”), Lily Collins (“Rules Don’t Apply”), Jeffrey Kurland (“Bullets Over Broadway”) and illustrator Lois DeArmond (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”) were honored with Distinguished Collaborator, Lacoste Spotlight, Distinguished Service, and Career Achievement Awards.
Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news!
“Hidden Figures” (Renee Ehrlich Kalfus) was the surprising period film winner and “Doctor Strange” (Alexandra Byrne) took fantasy honors.
The Oscar race, though, still pits “La La Land” against “Jackie” (Madeline Fontaine).
TV winners included “American Horror Story: Roanoke” (contemporary) – Lou Eyrich, Helen Huang; “Game of Thrones” (fantasy) – Michele Clapton, April Ferry, and “The Crown” (period) – Michele Clapton.
The short form design award went to Pepsi: “Momotaro” Episode Four, featuring Jude Law — Ami Goodheart.
Additionally, Meryl Streep (“Florence Foster Jenkins”), Lily Collins (“Rules Don’t Apply”), Jeffrey Kurland (“Bullets Over Broadway”) and illustrator Lois DeArmond (“Star Trek: Deep Space Nine”) were honored with Distinguished Collaborator, Lacoste Spotlight, Distinguished Service, and Career Achievement Awards.
Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news!
- 2/22/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The Beverly Hilton ballroom was a sea of eye-opening gowns and outfits, it was after all the Costume Designer Guild Awards, an evening celebrating excellence in costume design. La La Land...
- 2/22/2017
- by Jazz Tangcay
- AwardsDaily.com
The 19th Costume Designers Guild Awards kicked off Tuesday at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, honoring the best in film, television and short-form costume design.
Hosted by This Is Us star Mandy Moore, the night was a star-studded fête, with Meryl Steep, who was honored with the prestigious Distinguished Collaborator Award, Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Pierce Brosnan and James Corden all in attendance. Additional honorees included Lacoste Spotlight Award recipient Lily Collins, Career Achievement Award recipient Jeffrey Kurland, and Lois DeArmond, who received the Distinguished Service Award. Emmy Award-winning costume designer Ret Turner, who died at age 87 last May, was posthumously inducted into the Guild's Hall of Fame.
And while we certainly enjoyed seeing the aforementioned stars on the red carpet at the soiree, all eyes were on the night's nominated costume designers, who created the beloved looks we saw in Oscar-nominated films like La La Land, Jackie and [link...
Hosted by This Is Us star Mandy Moore, the night was a star-studded fête, with Meryl Steep, who was honored with the prestigious Distinguished Collaborator Award, Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Pierce Brosnan and James Corden all in attendance. Additional honorees included Lacoste Spotlight Award recipient Lily Collins, Career Achievement Award recipient Jeffrey Kurland, and Lois DeArmond, who received the Distinguished Service Award. Emmy Award-winning costume designer Ret Turner, who died at age 87 last May, was posthumously inducted into the Guild's Hall of Fame.
And while we certainly enjoyed seeing the aforementioned stars on the red carpet at the soiree, all eyes were on the night's nominated costume designers, who created the beloved looks we saw in Oscar-nominated films like La La Land, Jackie and [link...
- 2/22/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
This drama about a trio of African-American women doing maths wonders for Nasa has few subtleties, but is done with such verve it’s hard to dislike
Taraji P Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe are Katherine Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, a trio of Nasa scientists who each played their part in sending astronaut John Glenn (the first American to orbit the Earth) into space in 1962. These three are fun, fast-talking and fabulously coiffed (thanks to costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus). They’re also African American women, which perhaps explains why this nugget of history has remained untold until now. Sure, some of it feels a little obvious, but with its “based on a true story” title card, cartoon palette and bouncy Pharrell (co)-penned soundtrack, this splashy, feelgood period piece is every bit as enjoyable as a best picture Oscar-nominated blockbuster could hope to be.
The...
Taraji P Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe are Katherine Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, a trio of Nasa scientists who each played their part in sending astronaut John Glenn (the first American to orbit the Earth) into space in 1962. These three are fun, fast-talking and fabulously coiffed (thanks to costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus). They’re also African American women, which perhaps explains why this nugget of history has remained untold until now. Sure, some of it feels a little obvious, but with its “based on a true story” title card, cartoon palette and bouncy Pharrell (co)-penned soundtrack, this splashy, feelgood period piece is every bit as enjoyable as a best picture Oscar-nominated blockbuster could hope to be.
The...
- 2/19/2017
- by Simran Hans
- The Guardian - Film News
The Costume Designers Guild has spoken their mind in 7 categories. Let's look at their nominees shall we?
Excellence in Period Film
The Dressmaker – Marion Boyce, Margot Wilson
Florence Foster Jenkins – Consolata Boyle
Hail, Caesar! – Mary Zophres
Hidden Figures – Renee Ehrlich Kalfus
Jackie – Madeline Fontaine
You might think "oh, that's the Oscar list!" but clutch your pearls or other design accessories. There are so many more options for the Academy in period that missed here (Silence anyone?) and in the other categories with Contemporary (which might have a contender this year with La La Land) and Fantasy nominations... which Oscar takes almost as seriously as Period Pieces in this category...
Excellence in Period Film
The Dressmaker – Marion Boyce, Margot Wilson
Florence Foster Jenkins – Consolata Boyle
Hail, Caesar! – Mary Zophres
Hidden Figures – Renee Ehrlich Kalfus
Jackie – Madeline Fontaine
You might think "oh, that's the Oscar list!" but clutch your pearls or other design accessories. There are so many more options for the Academy in period that missed here (Silence anyone?) and in the other categories with Contemporary (which might have a contender this year with La La Land) and Fantasy nominations... which Oscar takes almost as seriously as Period Pieces in this category...
- 1/12/2017
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
“Hidden Figures,” “Jackie” and “La La Land” emerged as major award contenders at the Costume Designers Guild Awards, to be held on February 21 in Beverly Hills.
The feature film category is split into three sections: contemporary, period and fantasy, with Deborah Cook nominated for the stop-motion animation movie “Kubo and the Two Strings” in the fantasy category. The first animated movie to earn a Cdg nomination, “Kubo” is nominated for the puppet costumes made for the movie.
Read More: Cinema Eye Honors 2017: The Best Things Winners Kirsten Johnson, Keith Maitland, Clay Tweel and More Said
The other films nominated in the category are “Doctor Strange,” “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” Costume designer Colleen Atwood earned nominations for both “Fantastic Beasts” and “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.”
The contemporary category nominations went to “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie,...
The feature film category is split into three sections: contemporary, period and fantasy, with Deborah Cook nominated for the stop-motion animation movie “Kubo and the Two Strings” in the fantasy category. The first animated movie to earn a Cdg nomination, “Kubo” is nominated for the puppet costumes made for the movie.
Read More: Cinema Eye Honors 2017: The Best Things Winners Kirsten Johnson, Keith Maitland, Clay Tweel and More Said
The other films nominated in the category are “Doctor Strange,” “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” Costume designer Colleen Atwood earned nominations for both “Fantastic Beasts” and “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.”
The contemporary category nominations went to “Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie,...
- 1/12/2017
- by Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
Read More: 2017 Oscar Predictions
Period and fantasy always have an advantage over contemporary in the Oscar costume universe. The Costume Designers branch, more than many others, is often willing to go their own way (remember winner “Priscilla: Queen of the Desert”?) They may not care if “The Dressmaker,” say, or “Allied,” did badly at the box office, or if everyone else seems to love “La La Land.” They just look at the clothes. But if Mary Zophre is up for both “La La Land” and “Hail, Caesar!,” the advantage goes to the Best Picture contender.
Contenders are listed in alphabetical order:
Frontunners
Colleen Atwood (“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”)
Consolata Boyle (“Florence Foster Jenkins”)
Madeline Fontaine (“Jackie”)
Joanna Johnston (“Allied”)
Mary Zophres (“La La Land”)
Contenders
Marion Boyce and Margot Wilson (“The Dressmaker”)
Sharen Davis (“Fences”)
Dante Ferretti (“Silence”)
Renee Ehrlich Kalfus (“Hidden Figures”)
Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh (“Love...
Period and fantasy always have an advantage over contemporary in the Oscar costume universe. The Costume Designers branch, more than many others, is often willing to go their own way (remember winner “Priscilla: Queen of the Desert”?) They may not care if “The Dressmaker,” say, or “Allied,” did badly at the box office, or if everyone else seems to love “La La Land.” They just look at the clothes. But if Mary Zophre is up for both “La La Land” and “Hail, Caesar!,” the advantage goes to the Best Picture contender.
Contenders are listed in alphabetical order:
Frontunners
Colleen Atwood (“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”)
Consolata Boyle (“Florence Foster Jenkins”)
Madeline Fontaine (“Jackie”)
Joanna Johnston (“Allied”)
Mary Zophres (“La La Land”)
Contenders
Marion Boyce and Margot Wilson (“The Dressmaker”)
Sharen Davis (“Fences”)
Dante Ferretti (“Silence”)
Renee Ehrlich Kalfus (“Hidden Figures”)
Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh (“Love...
- 1/10/2017
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Theodore Melfi’s “Hidden Figures,” the untold historical drama about African-American math genius Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) and her two Nasa colleagues (Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe), is starting to garner crafts recognition, with production designer Wynn Thomas nabbing a period Art Directors Guild nomination this week.
“Fortunately, there was a lot of research to draw upon for what the offices looked like at the Langley Nasa facility,” Thomas told IndieWire. But he was able to bring more imagination to the Space Task Group, which was reconfigured for the movie, which was shot in Atlanta.
Instead of a dull, rectangular-shaped office, the African-American designer made it a place of wonder. “And I wanted Katherine Johnson and the audience to feel they were entering a very special place where something fantastic was going on,” he said. “So we ended up using the Morehouse College buildings for the exterior of Nasa...
“Fortunately, there was a lot of research to draw upon for what the offices looked like at the Langley Nasa facility,” Thomas told IndieWire. But he was able to bring more imagination to the Space Task Group, which was reconfigured for the movie, which was shot in Atlanta.
Instead of a dull, rectangular-shaped office, the African-American designer made it a place of wonder. “And I wanted Katherine Johnson and the audience to feel they were entering a very special place where something fantastic was going on,” he said. “So we ended up using the Morehouse College buildings for the exterior of Nasa...
- 1/7/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The past comes alive in bold fashion in the leading Oscar contenders for costume design: “La La Land,” “Jackie,” “Hidden Figures,” “Fences,” and “Allied.” They all encompass love, aspiration, pain, survival, and rebellion.
Dig deeper, and four of the five are period pieces, although Damien Chazelle’s retro musical embraces classical Hollywood; “Jackie” and “Hidden Figures” present unconventional female heroism; and “Hidden Figures” and “Fences” offer compelling African-American dramas.
“La La Land”
Costume designer Mary Zophres strongly embraced a classic, if timeless, look for Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling). But she shopped affordably, including the sales rack at Sachs, and knew pragmatically that she’d have to make all their clothes for the big dance sequences. The dresses had to offer a flattering cut, the colors that Chazelle wanted and fluid movement in the skirts.
“In my mind, there’s a bit of an arc to Mia,” Zophres told IndieWire.
Dig deeper, and four of the five are period pieces, although Damien Chazelle’s retro musical embraces classical Hollywood; “Jackie” and “Hidden Figures” present unconventional female heroism; and “Hidden Figures” and “Fences” offer compelling African-American dramas.
“La La Land”
Costume designer Mary Zophres strongly embraced a classic, if timeless, look for Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling). But she shopped affordably, including the sales rack at Sachs, and knew pragmatically that she’d have to make all their clothes for the big dance sequences. The dresses had to offer a flattering cut, the colors that Chazelle wanted and fluid movement in the skirts.
“In my mind, there’s a bit of an arc to Mia,” Zophres told IndieWire.
- 12/29/2016
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Renee Ehrlich Kalfus has designed costumes for the 2104 Annie remake, Chocolat, and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Her work can currently be seen in Hidden Figures, the story of three...
- 12/8/2016
- by Jazz Tangcay
- AwardsDaily.com
This appears as though it will be a much more competitive Costume Design category than we’ve seen in recent years. There are at least 13 films that could easily be nominated and not a single “lock” among them. [Nov. 29]
Top Five
Colleen Atwood, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”
Consolata Boyle, “Florence Foster Jenkins”
Madeline Fontaine, “Jackie”
Sandy Powell, “Silence”
Mary Zophres, “La La Land”
Almost There
Sharen Davis, “Fences”
Johanna Johnston, “Allied”
Renee Ehrlich Kalfus, “Hidden Figures”
Seong-hie Ryu, “The Handmaiden”
Jacqueline West, “Live by Night”
Albert Wolsey, “Rules Don’t Apply”
Mary Zophres, “Hail, Caesar!”
Longshots
Colleen Atwood, “Alice Through The Looking Glass”
Colleen Atwood, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”
Erin Benach, “Loving”
Alexandra Byrne, “Doctor Strange”
Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh, “Love & Friendship”
David Crossman, Glyn Dillon, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”
Gregory Ellwood’s Current Oscar Predictions:
Best Picture
Director
Best Actress
Best Actor
Best...
Top Five
Colleen Atwood, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”
Consolata Boyle, “Florence Foster Jenkins”
Madeline Fontaine, “Jackie”
Sandy Powell, “Silence”
Mary Zophres, “La La Land”
Almost There
Sharen Davis, “Fences”
Johanna Johnston, “Allied”
Renee Ehrlich Kalfus, “Hidden Figures”
Seong-hie Ryu, “The Handmaiden”
Jacqueline West, “Live by Night”
Albert Wolsey, “Rules Don’t Apply”
Mary Zophres, “Hail, Caesar!”
Longshots
Colleen Atwood, “Alice Through The Looking Glass”
Colleen Atwood, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children”
Erin Benach, “Loving”
Alexandra Byrne, “Doctor Strange”
Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh, “Love & Friendship”
David Crossman, Glyn Dillon, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”
Gregory Ellwood’s Current Oscar Predictions:
Best Picture
Director
Best Actress
Best Actor
Best...
- 11/30/2016
- by Gregory Ellwood
- The Playlist
The red dress is an iconic part of the original Annie, so director Will Gluck knew he wanted to include it in his adaptation. "We thought long and hard about how to do it," he tells People. "People always remember Annie's red dress, but in our movie, she just wears her regular clothes the whole time." The solution? The distinctive garment became Annie's attire for a formal event at the Guggenheim Museum in the movie, where she sings one of the musical's brand-new songs. Costume designer Renée Ehrlich Kalfus "spent a long time" coming up with the right...
- 11/13/2014
- by Tara Fowler, @waterfowlerta
- PEOPLE.com
The red dress is an iconic part of the original Annie, so director Will Gluck knew he wanted to include it in his adaptation. "We thought long and hard about how to do it," he tells People. "People always remember Annie's red dress, but in our movie, she just wears her regular clothes the whole time." The solution? The distinctive garment became Annie's attire for a formal event at the Guggenheim Museum in the movie, where she sings one of the musical's brand-new songs. Costume designer Renée Ehrlich Kalfus "spent a long time" coming up with the right...
- 11/13/2014
- by Tara Fowler, @waterfowlerta
- PEOPLE.com
Target has gotten into the Annie business this holiday season! In honor of the big-screen remake of the classic story, starring Quvenzhané Wallis, the retailer is launching a special children's clothing collection created by the movie's costume designer, Renée Ehrlich Kalfus. Both Quvenzhané and Renée gave us the scoop on their adventures at Target's recent launch party in New York City, where Target fans like Molly Sims, Busy Philipps, and Camila Alves weighed in on their own excitement for the film - and the clothes! Annie the movie hits theaters Dec. 19, while the collection arrives in Target stores and online Nov. 16.
- 11/13/2014
- by Allie-Merriam
- Popsugar.com
Filming begins today on location in New York on Annie, starring Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhané Wallis, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, and Cameron Diaz. An Overbrook Entertainment / Marcy Media production, the film is scheduled to be released by Columbia Pictures on December 19, 2014. The film is set in the present day and will incorporate real New York locations.
A Broadway classic that has delighted audiences for generations comes to the big screen with a new, contemporary vision in Columbia Pictures’ musical comedy, Annie. Director/Producer/Screenwriter Will Gluck teams with producers James Lassiter, Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith, and Shawn “Jay Z” Carter, Jay Brown, and Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith with a modern telling that captures the magic of the classic characters and original show that won seven Tony Awards. Celia Costas serves as Executive Producer. Gluck is currently revising the film’s screenplay, which was written by Emma Thompson and rewritten by...
A Broadway classic that has delighted audiences for generations comes to the big screen with a new, contemporary vision in Columbia Pictures’ musical comedy, Annie. Director/Producer/Screenwriter Will Gluck teams with producers James Lassiter, Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith, and Shawn “Jay Z” Carter, Jay Brown, and Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith with a modern telling that captures the magic of the classic characters and original show that won seven Tony Awards. Celia Costas serves as Executive Producer. Gluck is currently revising the film’s screenplay, which was written by Emma Thompson and rewritten by...
- 9/24/2013
- by Kellvin Chavez
- LRMonline.com
PARK CITY -- For playwright Nicky Rogan (Michael Keaton), baseball is life. And since his team is the Boston Red Sox circa 1986, that means his life is about losing--big time. Game 6, written by novelist Don Delillo and directed by Michael Hoffman, is a fanciful journey into Rogan's heart of darkness. It attempts to walk the fine line between despair and comedy, reality and imagination, and often succeeds. For audiences prepared to take the leap of faith and accept the unusual tone of the film, Game 6 should be a winner. Others may wonder what the fuss is about.
In Game 6, DeLillo has adapted the hyper-real, postmodern style he fashioned for novels like Underworld and The Body Artist for his first screenplay. Things do not operate so much in the everyday world as the psychological realm where the inner life meets the street. So anything can and does happen with a logic of its own. Characters appear as if from off-stage and hold forth in wordy speeches more familiar to the theater.
On the eve of the opening of his latest play, and also the night of the fateful game six of the world series in which his beloved Red Sox will fall to the Mets in the most inglorious way, Rogan gets caught in an all-day traffic jam that is a metaphor for his own internal confusion. Although he is a successful playwright, he is fixated on failure, and the Red Sox are his chosen form of suffering. Since the age of six, he has been "carrying them on my shoulders," and can rattle off a litany of loses and near misses.
In the course of the day he conveniently runs into his teenage daughter (Ari Graynor) when his cab pulls up next to hers, and his down and out friend, the playwright Elliot Litvak (Griffin Dunne), who has fallen on hard times after the feared critic Steven Schwimmer (Robert Downey Jr.) panned his play. Rogan is terrified of the critic, who lives in an underground lair with a Buddhist motif, and hatches a plot to kill him. If this wasn't enough, Rogan's lead actor (Harris Yulin) has a mysterious parasite in his brain that is causing him to forget lines.
It's a lot for anyone to swallow and Keaton has been given a mouthful of DeLillo's elegant if somewhat stilted language. In the face of the impending doom of his play and the Red Sox, Rogan's journey is to find faith and discover that life is good. When Boston first basemen Bill Buckner famously lets an easy ground ball roll through his legs and the Red Sox lose, it is an opportunity for Rogan to change the way he sees the world.
DeLillo and Hoffman have set Rogan off on a noble pursuit that may seem more important and personal to him than the audience. We simply don't care about the critic and his bad review as much as Rogan does, especially since Downey's character is more silly than imposing.
But even if the style does not always work, it is a heroic effort to do something different and thoughtful under extremely difficult circumstances. Game 6 is a good looking period piece shot (by David M. Dunlap) in New York for "well south of one million dollars." The cast, especially Keaton, who carries the film on his shoulders, is never less than fun to watch. Graynor has a lovely New York-know-it-all presence and Shalom Harlow is stunning as an ethereal waitress who appeals to Rogan's better and worse selves. And as Game 6 suggests and the Red Sox have eventually proven, there is good reason to be positive about life, even in the face of overwhelming odds.
GAME 6
A Serenade Films Production, a Double Play Production in association with Vox3 Films and Shadowcatcher Entertainment
Credits:
Director: Michael Hoffman
Writer: Don DeLillo
Producers:Amy Robinson, Griffin Dunne, Leslie Urdang, Christina Weiss Lurie
Executive producers: Michael Nizik, David Skinner, Bryan Iler
Director of photography: David M. Dunlap
Production designer: Bill Groom
Music: Yo La Tengo
Co-producers: David Bausch, Nick Goodwin-Self
Costume
designers: Renee Ehrlich Kalfus, Elizabeth Shelton
Editor: Camilla Toniolo
Cast:
Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Griffin Dunne, Ari Graynor, Shalom Harlow, Bebe Neuwirth, Harris Yulin, Tom Aldredge, Catherine O'Hara
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 87 minutes...
In Game 6, DeLillo has adapted the hyper-real, postmodern style he fashioned for novels like Underworld and The Body Artist for his first screenplay. Things do not operate so much in the everyday world as the psychological realm where the inner life meets the street. So anything can and does happen with a logic of its own. Characters appear as if from off-stage and hold forth in wordy speeches more familiar to the theater.
On the eve of the opening of his latest play, and also the night of the fateful game six of the world series in which his beloved Red Sox will fall to the Mets in the most inglorious way, Rogan gets caught in an all-day traffic jam that is a metaphor for his own internal confusion. Although he is a successful playwright, he is fixated on failure, and the Red Sox are his chosen form of suffering. Since the age of six, he has been "carrying them on my shoulders," and can rattle off a litany of loses and near misses.
In the course of the day he conveniently runs into his teenage daughter (Ari Graynor) when his cab pulls up next to hers, and his down and out friend, the playwright Elliot Litvak (Griffin Dunne), who has fallen on hard times after the feared critic Steven Schwimmer (Robert Downey Jr.) panned his play. Rogan is terrified of the critic, who lives in an underground lair with a Buddhist motif, and hatches a plot to kill him. If this wasn't enough, Rogan's lead actor (Harris Yulin) has a mysterious parasite in his brain that is causing him to forget lines.
It's a lot for anyone to swallow and Keaton has been given a mouthful of DeLillo's elegant if somewhat stilted language. In the face of the impending doom of his play and the Red Sox, Rogan's journey is to find faith and discover that life is good. When Boston first basemen Bill Buckner famously lets an easy ground ball roll through his legs and the Red Sox lose, it is an opportunity for Rogan to change the way he sees the world.
DeLillo and Hoffman have set Rogan off on a noble pursuit that may seem more important and personal to him than the audience. We simply don't care about the critic and his bad review as much as Rogan does, especially since Downey's character is more silly than imposing.
But even if the style does not always work, it is a heroic effort to do something different and thoughtful under extremely difficult circumstances. Game 6 is a good looking period piece shot (by David M. Dunlap) in New York for "well south of one million dollars." The cast, especially Keaton, who carries the film on his shoulders, is never less than fun to watch. Graynor has a lovely New York-know-it-all presence and Shalom Harlow is stunning as an ethereal waitress who appeals to Rogan's better and worse selves. And as Game 6 suggests and the Red Sox have eventually proven, there is good reason to be positive about life, even in the face of overwhelming odds.
GAME 6
A Serenade Films Production, a Double Play Production in association with Vox3 Films and Shadowcatcher Entertainment
Credits:
Director: Michael Hoffman
Writer: Don DeLillo
Producers:Amy Robinson, Griffin Dunne, Leslie Urdang, Christina Weiss Lurie
Executive producers: Michael Nizik, David Skinner, Bryan Iler
Director of photography: David M. Dunlap
Production designer: Bill Groom
Music: Yo La Tengo
Co-producers: David Bausch, Nick Goodwin-Self
Costume
designers: Renee Ehrlich Kalfus, Elizabeth Shelton
Editor: Camilla Toniolo
Cast:
Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Griffin Dunne, Ari Graynor, Shalom Harlow, Bebe Neuwirth, Harris Yulin, Tom Aldredge, Catherine O'Hara
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 87 minutes...
- 1/25/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It's akin to going to a family reunion and seeing people you haven't had contact with in 15 years and then filling in all the new boyfriends, kids and others. That's the feeling of "The Evening Star", the second coming of Aurora Greenway, whose life and tribulations captivated us in "Terms of Endearment".
With Shirley MacLaine reprising her Oscar-winning role to prickly perfection, this follow-up film will surely tug at the hearts of Aurora followers, but its episodic nature is not as likely to enthrall audiences as its heart-tugging predecessor. Unquestionably, this "Star" will shine brightest among an older, female audience who will savor Aurora's life adventures, but lacking the big emotional burst of the former, this soap-operatic sequel is not likely to negotiate "Term"'s popularity. More discerning viewers will be downright rankled by its strident tendencies toward emotional melodramatics.
Unlike the daily soaps, you can't pick this one up quite lickety-split. It takes awhile to learn the players. As you already know, Aurora's daughter (Debra Winger) has passed on with cancer, and what you perhaps didn't realize is that Aurora has raised her grandchildren, with decidedly mixed results.
"Terms of Endearment"'s mother-daughter rivalry is now a grandmother-granddaughter tug of war as Aurora struggles to keep her feisty granddaughter, Melanie (Juliette Lewis) from "doing everything wrong in life."
Then there are her grandsons: Teddy (Mackenzie Astin) who's not ambitious enough for Aurora, and Tommy (George Newbern) who, break her heart, is doing time in the penitentiary. Even Aurora's imperturbable front cannot mask the deep disappointment she feels in how her grandkids turned out.
Even worse, they resent her for it, especially Melanie, who has a much tighter bond with her mother's old chum, Patsy (Miranda Richardson) who, as a blond nouveau rich socialite, is everything that Aurora despises and is, as she readily admits, her worst nightmare.
Force of nature that she is, Aurora leaves everything in her wake: bad blood, broken hearts, big grudges, but, best of all, undying love. While some of the story's plot permutations fry a bit fast and are served somewhat slick-side up, screenwriter-director Robert Harling has done an overall solid job of cinematically shaping Larry McMurtry's massive, rambling novel.
Despite some crammed dramatics, "The Evening Star" radiates with many rich emotional moments. And, most of them, fittingly, are the result of Shirley MacLaine's splendid performance as the indomitable Aurora. She's the force to which all others react and, indeed, the drive of MacLaine's performance and personality has undoubtedly kindled the supporting players to their fullest dimension.
Supporting standouts include Lewis as Aurora's brittle and confused but resilient granddaughter; and Richardson who as the still-blond Texas socialite Patsy, is, indeed, a thorny yellow rose. A tip of the brim also to the late Ben Johnson for his solid-rock performance as Aurora's physician neighbor and to Donald Moffat for his spit-and-polish panache as Aurora's old-military ex-beau. Tooling into town for a quickie NASA reunion, Jack Nicholson briefly flashes the devilish grin that continues to defy all of Aurora's better sense and good judgment.
The outstanding technical contributions certainly put the eyes of Texas upon you: Bruno Rubeo's production design sharply delineates the contradictions between down-home Texas and modern-day Houston, similarly, Renee Ehrlich Kalfus' costume design captures the ground-level garishness of Texas garb. A particular highlight is Aurora's costumery, frilly and light-colored as befits a woman whose star will never quietly fade into the night.
THE EVENING STAR
Paramount Pictures
Rysher Entertainment
A David Kirkpatrick production
Producers David Kirkpatrick, Polly Platt,
Keith Samples
Screenwriter-director Robert Harling
Based on the novel by Larry McMurtry
Director of photography Don Burgess
Production designer Bruno Rubeo
Editors Priscilla Nedd-Friendly, David Moritz
Costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus
Music William Ross
Co-producer Dennis Bishop
Casting Jennifer Shull
Sound mixer Douglas Axtell
Color/stereo
Cast:
Aurora Greenway Shirley MacLaine
Jerry Bruckner Bill Paxton
Melanie Horton Juliette Lewis
Patsy Carpenter Miranda Richardson
Arthur Cotton Ben Johnson
Bruce Scott Wolf
Tommy Horton George Newbern
Rosie Dunlop Marion Ross
Teddy Horton Mackenzie Astin
Hector Scott Donald Moffat
Jane China Kantner
Garrett Breedlove Jack Nicholson
Running time -- 127 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
With Shirley MacLaine reprising her Oscar-winning role to prickly perfection, this follow-up film will surely tug at the hearts of Aurora followers, but its episodic nature is not as likely to enthrall audiences as its heart-tugging predecessor. Unquestionably, this "Star" will shine brightest among an older, female audience who will savor Aurora's life adventures, but lacking the big emotional burst of the former, this soap-operatic sequel is not likely to negotiate "Term"'s popularity. More discerning viewers will be downright rankled by its strident tendencies toward emotional melodramatics.
Unlike the daily soaps, you can't pick this one up quite lickety-split. It takes awhile to learn the players. As you already know, Aurora's daughter (Debra Winger) has passed on with cancer, and what you perhaps didn't realize is that Aurora has raised her grandchildren, with decidedly mixed results.
"Terms of Endearment"'s mother-daughter rivalry is now a grandmother-granddaughter tug of war as Aurora struggles to keep her feisty granddaughter, Melanie (Juliette Lewis) from "doing everything wrong in life."
Then there are her grandsons: Teddy (Mackenzie Astin) who's not ambitious enough for Aurora, and Tommy (George Newbern) who, break her heart, is doing time in the penitentiary. Even Aurora's imperturbable front cannot mask the deep disappointment she feels in how her grandkids turned out.
Even worse, they resent her for it, especially Melanie, who has a much tighter bond with her mother's old chum, Patsy (Miranda Richardson) who, as a blond nouveau rich socialite, is everything that Aurora despises and is, as she readily admits, her worst nightmare.
Force of nature that she is, Aurora leaves everything in her wake: bad blood, broken hearts, big grudges, but, best of all, undying love. While some of the story's plot permutations fry a bit fast and are served somewhat slick-side up, screenwriter-director Robert Harling has done an overall solid job of cinematically shaping Larry McMurtry's massive, rambling novel.
Despite some crammed dramatics, "The Evening Star" radiates with many rich emotional moments. And, most of them, fittingly, are the result of Shirley MacLaine's splendid performance as the indomitable Aurora. She's the force to which all others react and, indeed, the drive of MacLaine's performance and personality has undoubtedly kindled the supporting players to their fullest dimension.
Supporting standouts include Lewis as Aurora's brittle and confused but resilient granddaughter; and Richardson who as the still-blond Texas socialite Patsy, is, indeed, a thorny yellow rose. A tip of the brim also to the late Ben Johnson for his solid-rock performance as Aurora's physician neighbor and to Donald Moffat for his spit-and-polish panache as Aurora's old-military ex-beau. Tooling into town for a quickie NASA reunion, Jack Nicholson briefly flashes the devilish grin that continues to defy all of Aurora's better sense and good judgment.
The outstanding technical contributions certainly put the eyes of Texas upon you: Bruno Rubeo's production design sharply delineates the contradictions between down-home Texas and modern-day Houston, similarly, Renee Ehrlich Kalfus' costume design captures the ground-level garishness of Texas garb. A particular highlight is Aurora's costumery, frilly and light-colored as befits a woman whose star will never quietly fade into the night.
THE EVENING STAR
Paramount Pictures
Rysher Entertainment
A David Kirkpatrick production
Producers David Kirkpatrick, Polly Platt,
Keith Samples
Screenwriter-director Robert Harling
Based on the novel by Larry McMurtry
Director of photography Don Burgess
Production designer Bruno Rubeo
Editors Priscilla Nedd-Friendly, David Moritz
Costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus
Music William Ross
Co-producer Dennis Bishop
Casting Jennifer Shull
Sound mixer Douglas Axtell
Color/stereo
Cast:
Aurora Greenway Shirley MacLaine
Jerry Bruckner Bill Paxton
Melanie Horton Juliette Lewis
Patsy Carpenter Miranda Richardson
Arthur Cotton Ben Johnson
Bruce Scott Wolf
Tommy Horton George Newbern
Rosie Dunlop Marion Ross
Teddy Horton Mackenzie Astin
Hector Scott Donald Moffat
Jane China Kantner
Garrett Breedlove Jack Nicholson
Running time -- 127 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 12/17/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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