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Many war films, no matter the location, the feats of heroism, or the bonds that are made amidst the bloodshed, end up being reminiscent of others in the process. You'd be forgiven, then, for making those comparisons before going into "Warfare," the new film from co-directors Alex Garland and former U.S. Navy Seal Ray Mendoza, whose personal experiences are the basis of the movie which, through its nightmarish depiction of its subject matter redefines what makes a war movie in the process. What might come as a surprise, however, is that amidst the chaos and barbarity unfolding around Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Joseph Quinn, and "Daredevil: Born Again's" Michael Gandolfini, inspiration was found in a 1998 Gwyneth Paltrow-starring rom-com.

Mendoza spoke to /Film about "Warfare," explaining that the film doesn't try to be a pro or anti-war story but a frenetic account of events and the fallout of each...

When one thinks of "experimental, groundbreaking television," they're probably not going to jump straight to the sitcom "Frasier," itself a spin-off of the Boston bar-based workplace sitcom "Cheers." They would be wrong, however, as "Frasier" was significantly more subversive than modern audiences give it credit for, with the writers aiming to create an "anti-'Seinfeld.'" The show turned sitcom tropes on their head with every opportunity, eschewing musical cues and establishing shots that have become a part of the sitcom audiovisual language, and, in one particularly adventurous episode, even played with the idea of multiple timelines.

Though it wouldn't go as far as introducing the concept of the multiverse à la the "Community" episode "Remedial Chaos Theory," the season 8 "Frasier" episode "Sliding Frasiers" showed audiences how the smallest of changes could completely change the course of an evening. Mental health specialist and radio host Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) tries to...

The following contains major spoilers for Presumed Innocent Episode 1, "Bases Loaded," now streaming on Apple TV+. It also contains discussion of sex and violence.

The Apple TV+ miniseries Presumed Innocent is the second adaptation of Scott Turow's debut novel, which was published back in 1987. And over three decades later, what unfolds still feels like it belongs in 1987. In presumably keeping the TV show faithful to the book, producer and writer David E. Kelley has presented characters and themes that stick out like a sore thumb to modern audiences -- particularly the two female leads. And while Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a reliable performance as lawyer Rusty Sabich, he can't assuage the feeling that this is all old hat in one way or another.

Presumed Innocent centers on Rusty, the high-flying Chicago prosecutor whose world is rocked when his "number two," Carolyn Polhemus, is found murdered. The first episode, "Bases Loaded,...

Naomie Harris, Joel Fry, Jameela Jamil and Olivia Lee are set to star in upcoming romantic comedy “Lola and Freddie,” billed as a British reimagining of 2012’s “Celeste and Jesse Forever.”

The feature comes from writer/director Dean Craig, whose recent film credits include Netflix hit “Love, Wedding, Repeat,” plus “The Honeymoon” and “The Estate.”

Bankside Films is handling worldwide sales and will be launching the film — due to shoot on location in London — at the European Film Market in Berlin.

“Lola and Freddie” follows a couple who were once inseparable and totally in love but now, in their 40s and having grown in different directions, are getting a divorce. Lola is thriving in her career while Freddie continues to chase his dream of becoming a screenwriter. When Freddie is hired by a big studio and rekindles a relationship with an old flame, he matures and aligns more with what Lola desired in their marriage.

Nothing brings out early 2000s nostalgia quite like Disney Channel's original movies. With cheesy one-liners, questionable fashion choices, and a usually solid message for younger viewers, the network's original films are a staple for a particular generation.

But not all of these movies are a smashing success. Whether it's due to painful writing or dreadfully outdated slang, some fans can't help but shudder when they look back on them. Some of these films may be able to survive the changing times, but not even the cutest tween celebrities can rescue others from being woefully dated.

Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on October 29, 2023: While the days of Disney Channel original movies have ultimately been replaced by the rise of streaming services, including Disney+, many people who grew up in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s still remember these television films fondly. However, for every hit like High School Musical, there is...

Netflix’s recent release Look Both Ways is a pleasant, fluffy rom-com about life’s limitless possibilities and those pivotal forks in the road that make you wonder “what if…?” Audiences that are young enough to be especially interested in this film may be too young to recall a similar flick from 1998: Peter Howitt's Sliding Doors. This film uses the same innovative narrative tricks to explore more than one story for its main character, the trajectory of her life split into two timelines by one fateful circumstance.

At the exit to a gallery in the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is a display of opinions about the future of cinema. For example:

“The Future Of Cinema Is Inclusion Not Exclusion”

–Kimberly Steward Film Executive

Or:

“The Future Of Cinema Is A Fusion Of Technology And Imagination”

–Thomas Duffield Production Designer

Well, here’s a modest addition, minus the block lettering, from yours truly, outside observer: “The future of cinema is alternate takes.”

That thought, profound or otherwise, occurred alongside the realization that Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife—a fourth entry in the Ghostbusters cycle—is set for release a week from Friday, on Nov. 19.

The film is unusual not in its reiterative nature—in the blockbuster world, franchise pictures are the rule, not the exception—but rather in the fact that it overlooks its predecessor, Paul Feig’s female-driven Ghostbusters reboot from 2016.

This, of course, caused some hard feelings.

Exclusive: Sliding Doors director Peter Howitt has been set to direct Lock Down, a feature set during the Covid-19 pandemic and the national shutdown in the U.S.

Howitt is directing from an original screenplay that he wrote with Gary Preisler (Kill Chain) who will produce alongside Nadine de Barros of Fortitude International and Sophie Seifried.

Fortitude is financing and representing international sales rights. The firm will be shopping the project in the run up to, and during, the Cannes virtual market next month. This will be one of multiple pandemic-themed projects at the market.

Producers are currently casting and eyeing a September 2020 start date in Los Angeles.

The story begins on March 14th, 2020 – the same day of the real California shutdown – in Santa Monica, California. It follows seven characters over 60 days whose lives intersect as they navigate the new normal that has suddenly been thrust upon the entire world.

Sliding Doors (Collector’s Edition), which marks the 100th release from Shout! Select, hits Blu-ray on January 21.

Directed by Peter Howitt (Johnny English), the narrative centers on a publicist named Helen whose life changes during a morning train back to her apartment. The film follows Helen’s life when she catches the train as well as when [...]

The post ‘Sliding Doors’ Collector’s Edition Hits Blu-ray In January Via Shout! Select appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

Mark Harrison Oct 24, 2019

We explore the TV episodes that borrow the structure of 1998’s Sliding Doors to discover what is and what might have been…

The film Sliding Doors had a bit of a moment back in 1998. Following a two-tier narrative structure, Peter Howitt’s film explores how different things might be if Gwyneth Paltrow’s Helen Quilley misses her tube home. In one timeline, she catches her train and makes it home in time to catch her boyfriend cheating, and in the other, she remains blissfully unaware.

Though not as fondly remembered two decades later, Sliding Doors belongs with Groundhog Day and It’s A Wonderful Life in the ranks of time-bending films that have inspired numerous structural riffs in TV episodes. Cinematically, it’s used to portray the various ironies and agonies that plague the two Helens (an anniversary special we’re sure we’ll never see), but...

We’ve confirmed reports from this afternoon that Viacom is in the lead for a portion of the Miramax library, though no deal is done and talks are ongoing. This comes in the wake of Lionsgate withdrawing its bid to focus on growing its core business.

That said, Lionsgate’s current worldwide home entertainment rights deal (packaged and digital) to the Miramax library, which it has had for the past seven years, remains intact. We understand that 30%-50% of the Miramax film library is up for sale as owner beIN Media Group seeks to maintain a controlling stake in the 700-title library built by Harvey and Bob Weinstein that includes Pulp Fiction and Best Picture Oscar winners Shakespeare in Love, The English Patient and Chicago. Reports peg the value of that stake at around $100M.

When news broke back in June about beIN’s interest in selling a portion of the library,...

Exclusive: Since news dropped last week about Qatar’s beIN Media Group’s interest to unload a portion of the Miramax library, Deadline has come to learn that there’s certain interest chiefly by Viacom and Lionsgate.

Meanwhile, Sony we understand is not considering any purchase of the 700-title library which boasts a multitude of award winning titles. MGM is less likely interested in the company once built by Harvey and Bob Weinstein. Gary Barber’s Spyglass we hear is kicking the tires.

Those who want the library want it in full, though beIN reportedly wants to still have some control in Miramax in its next evolution.

Nine years after Disney sold Miramax, what does the library mean to today’s suitors?

We hear from non-Miramax sources, it’s still a perennial piece of real estate for anyone who wants to grow an ancillary film library. They’re hard to...

Happy 46th birthday to Oscar-winning actress, food writer, businesswoman and singer Gwyneth Paltrow! She is the daughter of the late esteemed TV producer Bruce Paltrow (“St. Elsewhere) and the Emmy and Tony-winning actress Blythe Danner. But Gwyneth was determined to carve out her own path in life and that she certainly has achieved in the movies.

Paltrow starred in the 1998 surprise Best Picture winner “Shakespeare in Love,” for which she won the Academy Award as Best Actress. She also earned a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards (for Best Actress and Best Ensemble) for that performance. She also picked up a second Globe nomination for her work playing a mathematician in 2005’s “Proof.”

Paltrow has gone on to create the successful lifestyle magazine Goop and has become a highly-respected writer on the food scene. In honor of this multi-talented lady on her big day, let’s...

Johnny English is back, and we have the teaser to prove it. Rowan Atkinson has been spoofing the James Bond franchise since 2003 and, though this particular franchise may not be as beloved as something like Austin Powers, it has managed to do well enough with the masses to get this far. Now, Johnny English Strikes Back is upon us, and this teaser provides us a first look before the full trailer arrives online tomorrow.

The movie, officially titled Johnny English Strikes Again, is set to arrive in theaters this year, but the studio hasn't set an exact release date yet. This teaser mostly serves as a recap of the previous two installments of the franchise, going over some of the gags and set pieces from Rowan Atkinson's past turns as the bumbling spy. There are choice bits of footage from the new movie thrown in here at the end as well,...

MaryAnn’s quick take… Gina Carano roams a mild yet tedious postapocalyptic wasteland as a bounty hunter, and either you are here for this lady badass of our feminazi dreams, or you are not. I’m “biast” (pro): I’m desperate for stories about women

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto) women’s participation in this film

(learn more about this)

It’s a confused kind of postapocalyptic hellscape in Scorched Earth. The earth doesn’t look very scorched, for one, “fifty years after the Cloudfall.” which takes us to, apparently, the early 22nd century. The air and water are poisoned, but everything seems pretty nice otherwise up here in the mountains of what used to be Montana. There’s a sort of neo Wild West vibe: it’s a little bit Firefly, actually. Billions of people are dead, which is terrible,...

"What makes you so different than the bounties you drag in here?" An official trailer has debuted online for a post-apocalyptic sci-fi action movie titled Scorched Earth, from actor-turned-director Peter Howitt. Set in a future where Earth has been ravaged (scorched?) and destroyed, the story follows a bounty hunter, played by Gina Carano, who gets into some major trouble when she tries to bring down a ruthless outlaw. This seems like such an odd, unoriginal mashup of bounty hunters, post-apocalyptic tropes, and maybe a bit of sci-fi, but not really. The full cast includes John Hannah, Stephanie Bennett, Alisha Newton, Ryan Robbins, Nathan Mitchell, and Patrick Gilmore. I hate to be so blunt, but this looks like a really terrible made-for-tv SyFy film. I'm really not that interested in seeing this, but check it out below anyway. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Peter Howitt's Scorched Earth, direct from...

Inside

Rachel Nichols ("Continuum," "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra") is attached to topline Miguel Angel Vivas' psychological thriller "Inside" for Nostromo Pictures.

Nichols plays a pregnant woman, left partially deaf from an car accident which killed her husband, who now lives in an isolated new home. As darkness descends on her deserted suburban street, she receives a visitor: A woman who will stop at nothing to snatch her soon-to-be-born baby. [Source: Variety]

Where the White Man Runs Away

Al Pacino, Barkhad Abdi and Melanie Griffith are set to join Evan Peters in "The Bronze" director Brian Buckley's "Where the White Man Runs Away". Filming begins this month in New York and will move to Cape Town next month.

Pacino will play a fictitious Vietnam War correspondent whose passion for telling the uncensored truth far exceeds the battlefield. Abdi will portray the translator who helps Peters' rookie journalist navigate Somalia. Griffith will play Peters' eccentric,...

Shout! Factory and Studio 100 Media have expanded their distribution alliance with a multi-picture deal for Studio 100’s upcoming Maya The Bee film series.

Under the terms, Shout! Factory has secured exclusive North American rights to sequels, including theatrical, VOD, digital, broadcast and home entertainment for cross-platform releases. Shout! Factory plans a strategic rollout of the new films, beginning with the first sequel, Maya The Bee 2 – The Honey Games, in 2017 through its Shout! Factory Kids division.

Shawn Williamson’s Vancouver-based Brightlight Pictures has begun production on Scorched Earth, a post-apocalyptic action project starring Gina Carano and John Hannah. Peter Howitt directs the story of a bounty hunter who learns that there might be more to life than just survival. Brightlight is producing in partnership with Lighthouse Pictures, who packaged the project. Great Point Media is financing.Production began on Thursday in Santa Marta, Colombia, on Sundowners, a dramatic comedy written and directed by Pavan Moondi. [link...

KIEŚLOWSKI’S Alternate Universes

By Raymond Benson

The late Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski often dramatized the theme of one’s destiny—whether it be determined by fate or by random coincidences. His most well known work, the Three Colors trilogy (Blue, White, and Red), certainly deals with the subject of chance, as do several episodes of his celebrated television miniseries, The Decalogue.

Made in 1981 during the Solidarity movement and a time of political upheaval in Soviet-occupied Poland, Blind Chance explores the question of “what if?” If you did something as insignificant as bumping into another person, would that change the course of your life?

The film offers three alternate “lives” of a medical student named Witek (superbly played by Boguslaw Linda). The first five minutes provide us with brief glances of Witek as a child, a teenager, and then a young adult. After the death of his father, Witek decides...

UK veteran producer Simon Perry has been appointed head of production at Swedish regional film centre Film i Väst in Trollhättan, aka Sweden’s Trollywood.

Perry - former head of British Screen Finance and, more recently, the Irish Film Board from 2006-11 – has signed a two-year contract with the centre and started in his new job this week.

He replaces Swedish producer Jessica Ask, who left to join independent production company Anagram Film & TV.

“We are happy to welcoming Perry to Film i Väst, and look forward to a collaboration with one of the world’s most experienced co-producers on the international scene,” said CEO Tomas Eskildsson.

Film i Vast operates on an annual budget of $11.5m (Sek 93m).

Perry, a film journalist, independent filmmaker and producer with his own Umbrella Films, was head of state-financed development and production company British Screen Finance (later known as the UK Film Coucil) from 1991.

Since 2000 he has concentrated on teaching...

When a lawyer gets involved in a fatal accident, he becomes compelled to set an innocent man free at the expense of his own career in our exclusive deleted scene from Reasonable Doubt. Dominic Cooper stars as district attorney Mitch Brockden, whose life unravels after he flees the scene of a fatal accident. When Clifton Davis (Samuel L. Jackson) is found with the body, he is charged with murder, causing Mitch to throw his own case against Clifton to try and clear his conscience, although this man may not be as innocent as he thinks. Check out this scene that wasn't shown during its theatrical run, which features Samuel L. Jackson and Gloria Reuben and shows how Mitch starts stacking the deck against himself in court.

Hotshot district attorney Mitch Brockden (Dominic Cooper) is involved in a fatal hit-and-run, but Clinton Davis (Samuel L. Jackson) is found with the body and charged with murder.

Fast-paced but insipidly dull, Reasonable Doubt is thriller-lite, not quite capable of mounting enough tension to make its brisk 91-minute runtime bearable, and certainly not skilled enough to make any of its twists remotely surprising. It’s never been a prerequisite in Hollywood for a movie to showcase originality, but one of the most irritating things about Reasonable Doubt is that it doesn’t even do well what’s been done before. Aside from its talented cast (all of whom could do much, much better), there’s nothing to make this movie really worth your time.

The plot follows Mitch Brockton (Dominic Cooper), an up-and-coming District Attorney who lives a charmed life. He’s a star in the courtroom, with enough charisma to make any jury hang on his every word, a loving family man with a beautiful wife (Erin Karpluk) and newborn daughter, and even always the most popular guy at the office.

Title: Reasonable Doubt Director: Peter P. Croudins Starring: Dominic Cooper, Gloria Reuben, Samuel L. Jackson, Erin Karpluk, Ryan Robbins When a director is so utterly disheartened with a finished product that, regardless of whether they had final cut, he or she takes measures to remove their name… well, that really says something. And such is the case with “Reasonable Doubt,” a labyrinthine legal thriller that starts off with an interesting enough premise but quickly devolves into a ramshackle delivery vehicle for Dominic Cooper’s misadventures in accent and the sort of disinterested glowering bullcrap that Samuel L. Jackson reliably pulls out for paycheck gigs devoid of character or sense. Director Peter Howitt (“Sliding Doors,” [ Read More ]

The post Reasonable Doubt Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Opening this weekend in theaters and on VOD is director Peter Howitt’s drama, Reasonable Doubt. Per the official synopsis, “When up-and-coming District Attorney Mitch Brockden (Dominic Cooper) commits a fatal hit-and-run, he feels compelled to throw the case against the accused criminal (Samuel L. Jackson) who was found with the body and blamed for the crime. Following the trial, Mitch’s worst fears come true when he realizes that he acquitted a guilty man, and he soon finds himself on the hunt for the killer before more victims pile up.” The film also stars Gloria Reuben. Last week I landed an exclusive interview with Dominic Cooper. During our wide ranging conversation we talked about how he got involved with the film, how the script changed during production, working with Samuel L. Jackson, just how cold it was filming in Winnipeg, and more. In addition, we also talked about his...

Hitting theaters in a limited release this Friday, director Peter Howitt's Reasonable Doubt stars Dominic Cooper and Samuel L. Jackson as two very different men tied to the same crime. Cooper plays Mitch Brockden, a young District Attorney who finds himself fleeing the scene of a fatal hit-and-run. When another man, Clinton Davis (Jackson), is accused of the killing, Brockden does what he can to help Davis without giving himself up. What he learns through the process, however, is that the case goes far deeper than he could ever have suspected. ComingSoon.net sat down with Cooper and Jackson to discuss the project's many twists and turns (Don't worry, the conversation stays spoiler-free) and, in the case of Jackson, the very specific art of delivering the title of a film in a...

This is the trailer for a new thriller called Reasonable Doubt, which stars Samuel L. Jackson and Dominic Cooper. I wasn't sure what to expect from this, but it looks like an intensely entertaining movie. I do have to say that the trailer reveals way to much information. It would have been nice to leave some of the twists and suspense a secret. It still looks good though! 

Up-and-coming District Attorney Mitch Brockden commits a fatal hit-and-run and feels compelled to throw the case against the accused criminal found with the body and blamed for the crime. Following the trial, Mitch's worst fears come true when he realizes that he acquitted a guilty man, and he soon finds himself on the hunt for the killer before more victims pile up.

The movie was directed by Peter Howitt (Antitrust) from a script written by Peter A. Dowling (Flightplan). The movie hits...

VOD is where it’s at these days. In recent weeks, various titles have been scheduled to land on-demand before opening in theaters, from Lars von Trier’s four-hour-long sex epic Nymphomaniac to the Sharlto Copley-starring mind-bender Open Grave. The trend seems like it’ll only continue growing through next year, with simultaneous VOD-theatrical release dates being added to the calendar on a daily basis.

One film taking that road to release is Reasonable Doubt, which stars Dominic Cooper and Samuel L. Jackson. Today, we have the first trailer for the movie, clearing up a few plot aspects and promising a very fast-moving thriller. Check it out below:

Though the film’s plot reminds me an awful lot of The Lincoln Lawyer, the presence of capable stars like Cooper and Jackson suggest that Reasonable Doubt might turn out decently. The trailer certainly plays up the cat-and-mouse angle, as well...

One of the hardest working men in showbiz, Samuel L. Jackson's indie drama Reasonable Doubt, which he stars in alongside Dominic Cooper and Gloria Reuben, has been picked up by Lionsgate (Us rights), for a 2014 release. The $8 million German-Canadian co-production, shot over 27 days in November and December last year, in Winnipeg and Chicago, was written by Peter Dowling, and directed by Peter Howitt. It centers on an up-and-coming assistant D.A. (Cooper) who has his life turned upside down when he's involved in a hit and run and another man (Jackson) is arrested for his crime and charged with murder. The film, a co-production between Paradox...

Lionsgate has now release the trailer for the upcoming "Reasonable Doubt" crime thriller, starring Dominic Cooper (Captain America) and Samuel L Jackson. Check it out below. Plot: The story follows District Attorney Mitch Brockden (Cooper), who commits a fatal hit-and-run and decides to throw the case against the accused criminal blamed for the crime, only to learn that he acquitted a guilty man that he needs to find and stop before he kills again. The new movie is directed by Peter Howitt (Laws of Attraction) and will be released on VOD and in select theaters on January 17th. Trailer:...

Reasonable Doubt has released a new trailer.

Dominic Cooper and Samuel L Jackson star in director Peter Howitt's thriller.

The film centres around a lawyer (Cooper) who is involved in a hit-and-run accident but never reports his involvement to the police.

When he finds himself representing a man charged with the murder of the man he hit, he finds himself torn between confessing and protecting himself.

The plot thickens when the man he is representing turns out to be more than he seems.

Reasonable Doubt will arrive on VOD and receive a limited Us release on January 17. A UK release date is yet to be announced.

Catch up on all the latest TV and Movies releases in Digital Spy's Screen Time:...

Earlier this week , ComingSoon.net debuted the poster for the upcoming Lionsgate crime-thriller Reasonable Doubt , starring Dominic Cooper and Samuel L. Jackson. Today, the trailer has come online and can be viewed in the player below, courtesy of iTunes Movie Trailers . Directed by Peter Howitt ( Laws of Attraction ), Reasonable Doubt follows District Attorney Mitch Brockden (Cooper), who commits a fatal hit-and-run and decides to throw the case against the accused criminal blamed for the crime, only to learn that he acquitted a guilty man that he needs to find and stop before he kills again. Reasonable Doubt opens in select cities and on VOD on January 17.

ComingSoon.net has the first look at the poster for the Lionsgate crime-thriller Reasonable Doubt , starring Dominic Cooper and Samuel L. Jackson, which opens in select cities and on VOD on January 17. In the movie directed by Peter Howitt ( Laws of Attraction ), Cooper plays District Attorney Mitch Brockden, who commits a fatal hit-and-run and decides to throw the case against the accused criminal blamed for the crime, only to learn that he acquitted a guilty man that he needs to find and stop before he kills again. Click on the poster for a bigger version:...

As a great lover of legal thrillers, I feel a significant measure of confidence in saying that my excitement for the upcoming film Reasonable Doubt is justified. Opening in January, the film boasts two stellar lead actors, Dominic Cooper and Samuel L. Jackson, as well as a seriously intriguing hook.

Four new images from Reasonable Doubt that were released today don’t add much to what we already know about the project, but they do introduce how all of the film’s main players will look.

Reasonable Doubt follows up-and-coming District Attorney Mitch Brockden (Cooper), who is involved in a fatal hit-and-run and flees the scene of the crime. When Brockden finds himself representing an accused criminal (Jackson) who was found with the body and is being tried for murder, the Da can’t fathom sending a man to prison in his place and instead throws the case. To his horror,...

Zurich Film Festival to screen a retrospective of 12 Working Title Films productions and award Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner the Golden Eye honour.

This year’s Zurich Film Festival (Zff) Career Achievement Award is to go to producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of British production company Working Title Films.

Co-founder Bevan will accept the award on behalf of his creative workshop, which has been responsible for numerous internationally acclaimed productions over nearly 30 years.

The company has made more than 100 productions grossing more than $6bn worldwide and reaping over 250 Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations.

The 9th Zff (Sept 26 - Oct 6) will present a retrospective of 12 Working Title Films productions including:

My Beautiful Laundrette (Stephen Frears/1985)Four Weddings And A Funeral (Mike Newell/1994)Fargo (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen/1996)Elizabeth (Shekhar Kapur/1998)The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen/1998)Notting Hill (Roger Michell/1999)High Fidelity (Stephen Frears/2000)About A Boy (Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz/2002)Atonement...

Feature Simon Brew 28 Jun 2013 - 07:11

Ever watched a big movie, and stopped with a jolt when a star of a British sitcom pops up? Us too...

This feature is all the fault of the late Richard Marner. As the incompetent Colonel in 'Allo 'Allo, he built a performance that was indelible in our eyes. Thus, when he turned up in a big Hollywood thriller as the President of Russia, we unsuccessfully stifled a guffaw. A big guffaw.

And it got us thinking: what other times has a British sitcom star appeared out of the blue in a big movie, causing a sedentary double take from the comfort of our local Odeon? Glad you asked.

Two things. Firstly, this isn't designed to be a complete list, and also, we've covered films made after the actor or actress confirmed rose to prominence in a sitcom. Oh, and another thing: none of...

One of the hardest working men in showbiz, Samuel L. Jackson's indie drama Reasonable Doubt, which he stars in alongside Dominic Cooper and Gloria Reuben, has been picked up by Lionsgate (Us rights), and will be sold internationally by Voltage Pictures. The $8 million German-Canadian co-production, shot over 27 days in November and December in Winnipeg and Chicago, was written by Peter Dowling, and directed by Peter Howitt, and centers on an up-and-coming assistant D.A. prosecuting a fatal hit-and-run case with inconclusive evidence. Following the trial, the assistant D.A finds himself struggling to hunt the man he got acquitted.  The film, a...

Gloria Reuben has joined Samuel L. Jackson and Dominic Cooper fin the indie crime thriller, Reasonable Doubt. Written by Peter Dowling and to be directed by Peter Howitt, the film centers on an up-and-coming assistant D.A. prosecuting a fatal hit-and-run case with inconclusive evidence. Following the trial, the assistant D.A finds himself struggling to hunt the man he got acquitted.  Reuben will play a Detective Blake Kanon. The film, a co-production between Paradox Entertainment, South Creek Pictures, and Bavariapool, is scheduled to start shooting in Canada this month.  The project was previously titled The...

• Bryan Cranston, Alice Eve (Sex and the City 2, next summer’s Star Trek Into Darkness), and Logan Marshall-Green (Prometheus) will star in Eye of Winter, an indie thriller about a lifelong crook (Cranston) who is going blind (too much blue meth?), and therefore decides to kidnap a mother (Eve) and her daughter to help him land a bounty of cash from a corrupt cop (Marshall-Green). Tze Chun (Children of Invention) will direct from a script he wrote with Osgood Perkins and Nick Simon (Removal). [Variety]

• Christopher Meloni (NBC’s Law & Order: Svu, HBO’s True Blood) is in talks to...

From the reels of Marvel’s biggest franchises, Nick Fury and Howard Stark are joining forces in a film together! Only, it’s not actually a Marvel flick teaming up two of its side characters, it’s just Samuel L. Jackson and Dominic Cooper moving away from big budget superhero films and taking more low-key roles in the upcoming independent drama “Reasonable Doubt” (which was once known as “The Good Samaritan” but probably changed so as not be confused with Jackson's recent "The Samaritan"). Variety reports that Jackson and Cooper will lead the Peter Howitt-directed legal thriller, which follows a rising District Attorney who is faced with a hit-and-run case with inconclusive evidence. Following the case, the attorney chooses to hunt down the man he helped to acquit. Production is set to ramp up in Canada on November 19th, and we must say that Jackson and Cooper are quite...

• Samuel L. Jackson and Dominic Cooper (Captain America: The First Avenger) will star in Reasonable Doubt, about an assistant district attorney who becomes obsessed with the man acquitted from a deadly hit-and-run case. Peter Howitt (Sliding Doors) will direct the indie from a script by Peter Dowling (Flightplan). [Variety]

• Adam Brody, Trey Songs, and Taye Diggs have joined the romantic comedy Baggage Claim, about a flight attendant (Paula Patton) desperately seeking a fiancé in time for her little sister’s engagement party. Brody will play a fellow flight attendant, along with costar Octavia Spencer. Songs and Diggs will play potential suitors.

Peter Howitt, the director of films such as Antitrust, Sliding Doors and Johnny English, has found his two leads for his next film. Samuel L. Jackson and Dominic Cooper have both signed on the dotted line to star in the legal thriller Reasonable Doubt, originally known as The Good Samaritan. Based on a script written by Peter Dowling (Flightplan) the movie follows an up-and-coming assistant D.A. who is working to convict in a hit and run case and then .struggling to hunt the man he got acquitted.. Variety, which first reported the casting, doesn.t say what role either actor will be playing. They are planning to start production on the movie before the end of the year, heading up to Canada on November 19th. Funny that two people from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Howard Stark and Nick Fury) who never met each other should end up in the...

Samuel L. Jackson (The Avengers) and Dominic Cooper (Captain America: The First Avenger) are set to topline director Peter Howitt's indie drama, Reasonable Doubt.   The film, written by Peter Dowling (Flightplan) and formerly titled The Good Samaritan, follows an assistant D.A. who prosecutes a fatal hit-and-run case with inconclusive evidence.  As the man on trial is then acquitted, the assistant D.A. struggles to hunt him down.  Variety doesn't report on specifics of Jackson and Cooper's characters, but they go on to say that the film will be a co-production of Paradox Entertainment, South Creek Pictures and Bavariapool.

Forget about The Good Samaritan. Bookmark the new title somewhere, because we’re now here to talk about Reasonable Doubt movie, instead! Still, it’s the same indie project which comes from director Peter Howitt, and it looks that Samuel L. Jackson and Dominic Cooper are both on board to star in it! That’s what I call a reasonable decision!

Written by Peter Dowling, the movie will center on an up-and-coming assistant D.A. prosecuting a fatal hit-and-run case with inconclusive evidence. Following the trial, the assistant D.A finds himself struggling to hunt the man he got acquitted.

This indie is a co-production between Paradox Entertainment, South Creek Pictures, and Bavariapool, and Voltage Pictures will handle international sales.

Reasonable Doubt starts shooting this November in Canada.

Click to continue reading Samuel L. Jackson & Dominic Cooper Set To Star In Reasonable Doubt!

One of the hardest working men in showbiz, Samuel L. Jackson, has signed up to star in the indie drama Reasonable Doubt, alongside Dominic Cooper. Written by Peter Dowling and to be directed by Peter Howitt, the film centers on an up-and-coming assistant D.A. prosecuting a fatal hit-and-run case with inconclusive evidence. Following the trial, the assistant D.A finds himself struggling to hunt the man he got acquitted.  No word on what actor will play what role, but I'll take a guess and say that Cooper will play the up-and-coming assistant D.A., while Jackson will play theman he got acquitted.  The film, a co-production between Paradox...

Peter Howitt's Reasonable Doubt, formerly called The Good Samaritan, has landed Samuel L. Jackson and Dominic Cooper. Variety reports that production on the film scripted by Flightplan's Peter Dowling, is scheduled to begin November 19th, in Canada. Reasonable Doubt follows an up-and-coming assistant district attorney who's prosecuting a deadly cast of hit and run with inconclusive evidence. After the trial, he's left chasing the very man he got acquitted. Paradox Entertainment's Fredrik Malmberg and Daniel Wagner produce along with Silvio Muraglia and Frank Buchs of Bavariapool and South Creek Pictures' Dave Valleau.

Peter Howitt's Reasonable Doubt, formerly called The Good Samaritan, has landed Samuel L. Jackson and Dominic Cooper. Variety reports that production on the film scripted by Flightplan's Peter Dowling, is scheduled to begin November 19th, in Canada. Reasonable Doubt follows an up-and-coming assistant district attorney who's prosecuting a deadly cast of hit and run with inconclusive evidence. After the trial, he's left chasing the very man he got acquitted. Paradox Entertainment's Fredrik Malmberg and Daniel Wagner produce along with Silvio Muraglia and Frank Buchs of Bavariapool and South Creek Pictures' Dave Valleau.

Back In 2003, James Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade parodied the 007 franchise when they (along with William Davies) penned the film Johnny English, directed by Peter Howitt.

Rowan Atkinson played the bungling British spy and now, eight years later, he's on his way back to the big screen in Johnny English Reborn.

This time, it's scripted by Hamish McColl, who also wrote the screenplay for Atkinson's 2007 release Mr Bean's Holiday.

A new trailer has been released for the film, which hits cinemas on October 7, along with a synopsis.

Synopsis:

Rowan Atkinson returns to the role of the accidental secret agent who doesn't know fear or danger in the comedy spy-thriller Johnny English Reborn.

In his latest adventure, the most unlikely intelligence officer in Her Majesty's Secret Service must stop a group of international assassins before they eliminate a world leader and cause global chaos.

In the years since MI...

British intelligence's resident bumbler Johnny English is back, back, back and here to prove it is the brand spanking new trailer for Johnny English Reborn, courtesy of Yahoo! Movies. You can watch it right here, you lucky, lucky people.In fairness, it's not without its chuckles as the nincomspook attends a Batman Begins-style martial arts academy, before returning to Blighty to tackle the world's troublemakers and fall over a lot. This time out English (Rowan Atkinson) is charged with thwarting a sinister plot to assassinate a world leader and must rally his not considerable talents to uncover the perps behind the scheme. Atkinson's anti-Bourne antics had critics throwing themselves in front of buses first time out, although Universal has $140m-worth of good reasons not to mind that too much. Joining Atkinson is a strong-looking support cast that includes Dominic West, Gillian Anderson, Rosamund Pike and Richard Schiff, while...

Rowan Atkinson is to star in 'Johnny English 2'. Universal Pictures has given the green light to the project, which would be a follow-up to 2003's 'Johnny English' - a spoof spy thriller directed by Peter Howitt and starring Atkinson as the titular character. The project will be directed by Oliver Parker, with Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan from Working Title signed up to produce. 'Johnny English' only made $28 million in the Us, but grossed $161 million worldwide, making it a desirable investment for Universal, which has seen movies 'State of Play' and 'Public Enemies' underperform recently, Variety reports. Atkinson ..

Okay, Peter Howitt's spy comedy "Johnny English" wasn't all that bad, but I remember I wasn't blown away by it either. In fact, I remember leaving the theater disappointed, which is why I'm not exactly thrilled that Universal is seriously developing a sequel to the 2003 flick with Rowan Atkinson ("Mr. Bean").

Variety says Oliver Parker will direct "Johnny English 2," and Atkinson will return to reprise his role as the clumsy spy as well. Hamish McColl, who was also behing "Mr. Bean's Holiday," wrote the script. Like I said, I am not convinced this is a great idea, but then again, this may be a chance to improve things...